"No CBI Inquiry Into Teacher Posts": Supreme Court Relief To Bengal Government

The Supreme Court has said there will be no CBI inquiry into the Bengal government's creation of extra posts to accommodate the estimated 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff sacked from the state's School Service Commission after the court voided the selection process.

A Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna-led bench overruled the Calcutta High Court, pointing out courts are barred from investigating cabinet decisions and that the order was incorrect. The court was hearing a petition from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government challenging that High Court order.

Last week the Supreme Court ruled the West Bengal School Service Commission's selection processes were "vitiated by manipulation and fraud" and had tainted its legitimacy.

READ | Supreme Court Sacks 25,000 Teachers, Blow To Bengal Government

The bench - consisting of Chief Justice and Justice Sanjay Kumar - said the appointments resulted from cheating and said, "Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption."

The Bengal government had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court's earlier order and press for the separation of 'tainted' and 'untainted' candidates.

The court, however, said verification of that sort is difficult given "the scale of camouflage at each stage" and ruled, "... the entire selection process was intentionally compromised..."

A furious Ms Banerjee - who must also prep her Trinamool Congress for what will certainly be a high-tension, high-stakes, and hostile campaign for next year's Assembly election - had responded sharply to the Supreme Court setback, vowing to protect the 'deserving' teachers.

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She also pointed to alleged irregularities in competitive exams in other states, including BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, where the 'Vyapam jobs scam' involved senior politicians, and instances of cheating (i.e., exam paper leaks) for the contentious NEET exam for medical courses.

Ms Banerjee also lashed out at the BJP and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) - her arch rivals in Bengal - of hatching a conspiracy to destroy the state's education system.

Bengal Teachers Recruitment Scam

At the centre of the row are supernumerary posts created by the state.

Over 23 lakh candidates sat for the state-level test in 2016. There were 24,640 open posts but 25,753 appointment letters were issued, leading to allegations of illegal recruitment.

This opened a can of worms for the Trinamool government, and several top leaders, including Partha Chatterjee, the ex-Education Minister, and Ms Banerjee's trusted lieutenant, being jailed.

Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya described last week's Supreme Court verdict as a "crushing defeat" for Ms Banerjee. "The Chief Minister, under whose watch this massive fraud ruined the careers of thousands of youths, must also be held accountable and face trial," he said.

Hours after the verdict, Ms Banerjee said she would not take the judgment personally and that her government would refine and repeat the selection process.

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