Calcutta HC stays single bench order on CBI probe into school recruitment – Hindustan Times

A division bench of the Calcutta high court on Wednesday ordered a three-week stay on the single bench order that had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a preliminary inquiry into alleged irregularities in the appointment of 25 group ‘D’ employees in schools run by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).

The CBI probe was ordered on Monday by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay after he heard a petition filed by some unsuccessful applicants. The judge said that a CBI officer of the rank of deputy inspector general has to complete the preliminary probe and submit a report before the court by December 21. The West Bengal government moved the division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Rabindranath Samanta challenging the order.

The division bench, while passing a stay on the CBI probe for three weeks, asked the WBBSE and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to submit all documents in a sealed cover to the registrar general of the Calcutta high court. The division bench said the matter will be heard again on November 29.

The process to recruit around 13000 group ‘D’ staff began in 2016. The WBSSC interviewed the applicants and drew up a panel of prospective employees. The panel was valid till March 2019. The petitioners alleged that genuine applicants were deprived as ineligible people got jobs in state-run schools during the recruitment drive. They also alleged that the number of ineligible people recruited could be around 500 and many of them were inducted after the validity of the panel expired in 2019.

During a hearing on November 18, the WBSSC told the single bench through an affidavit that the 50 recruitments under scanner were illegal as it did not clear these candidates or issue recommendation letters to them. The commission also sought an inquiry by a retired judge of the Calcutta high court, indirectly implying that ineligible people were recruited by the board of secondary education. The court asked the WBBSEE to file an affidavit.

On Monday, Justice Gangopadhyay turned down the WBSSC’s suggestion to have an inquiry conducted by a retired judge or a panel of three retired judges of the Calcutta high court. In his order, Justice Gangopadhyay said, “CBI should also enquire a very important part of this serious illegality and irregularity as to whether there is any money trail in issuance of such recommendation letters and subsequent issuance of appointments letters.”

While ordering a stay on the CBI probe, the division asked senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who represented the petitioners, whether he would prefer an investigation by a retired judge of the court. Bhattacharya said the petitioners would want it.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of indulging in widespread corruption and depriving jobless youths of the state.

After the division bench passed its order on Wednesday, the student and youth fronts of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), staged a massive demonstration outside the office of the WBSSC in Salt Lake demanding resignation of education minister Bratya Basu and top officials of the WBBSE and WBSSC.

The youth activists blocked roads and broke through police barricades. Several of them were arrested.