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Supreme Court Allows Bengal’s ‘Untainted’ Teachers to Continue, Orders Fresh Recruitment by Year-End
In a major relief for “untainted” schoolteachers in West Bengal, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed eligible assistant teachers for Classes IX to XII—who had lost their jobs following an earlier verdict—to continue in their posts, on the condition that the state government completes a fresh recruitment process by the end of this year.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, heading the bench, stated, “We are inclined to accept the prayer in the present application in so far as it relates to the assistant teachers for classes IX, X and XI-XII, subject to the following conditions. Advertisement be published on or before May 31 and exams and entire process to be completed by December 31, 2025.”
However, the Court refused to extend the same relief to Group C and Group D staff, whose appointments were dismissed earlier due to widespread corruption in the hiring process.
CJI Khanna clarified, “We will only grant extension to the teachers and not to the Group-IV candidates. We are not inclined to accept the prayer as far as Group C and D employees are concerned, as the number of established tainted candidates is substantially high in number.”
The state government, School Service Commission (SSC), and the Board have been directed to file an affidavit by 31 May, including a copy of the new recruitment advertisement and a detailed schedule to ensure the process is completed by the December deadline.
The Court warned, “In case advertisement and affidavit are not given by May 31, appropriate orders will be passed by the Court, including imposing cost.”
The state's counsel, N.K. Kaul, informed the apex court that no new recruitment had taken place since 2016 due to the ongoing litigation.
CJI Khanna emphasised that the current order must not be construed as any form of preferential treatment in the upcoming recruitment. “The order should not be read as special rights or advantage on the teachers as far as fresh recruitment is concerned,” he noted.
This development follows a ruling earlier this month, when the Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching appointments in government and government-aided schools. The decision came in light of a massive cash-for-jobs scandal that led to the arrests of top state officials, including the former education minister Partha Chatterjee.
At that time, the Chief Justice had remarked, “In our opinion this case is where the entire selection process has been vitiated. Manipulation and fraud on a large scale, coupled with the intention to cover up have tainted the selection process beyond repair.”
He added, “The legibility and credibility of the selection procedure are denuded. We find no reason to interfere in the HC, since the appointments are by fraud and cheating and we see no reason to interfere.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier addressed a gathering of dismissed teachers at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium on 7 April, promising to approach the Supreme Court for clarity. She expressed concern that a mass exodus of teachers could lead to a collapse of secondary and higher secondary education in the state.
