New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday postponed the hearing on the West Bengal teacher recruitment matter, granting the respondents a final opportunity to file their replies to the various petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court order on teacher recruitment. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud noted that no counter affidavit has been filed so far and directed that if the respondents wish to file their counters, they must do so within two weeks. The court emphasized that failure to file a counter affidavit within this period would close the right to do so.

Previously, the Supreme Court had ordered that the investigation by the CBI, as directed by the High Court, should continue but no coercive measures should be taken. The top court had also stayed the Calcutta High Court's judgment dated April 22, 2024, until the current proceedings are resolved. During an earlier hearing, the court acknowledged that the High Court's decision affected the jobs of 25,000 people and asked for evidence to determine whether it was possible to distinguish valid from invalid appointments.

The Supreme Court is hearing petitions from the West Bengal Government and others against the Calcutta High Court's decision to nullify the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) teacher recruitment panel, which canceled all appointments of teachers and non-teaching staff. The 2016 SSC recruitment process involved selections for four categories: Assistant Teachers for Classes IX and X, Assistant Teachers for Classes XI and XII, Non-teaching Staff of Group 'C', and Non-teaching Staff of Group 'D'.

The selection process began with a notification on February 16, 2016, and an OMR-based written exam on November 27, 2016. The final panel for Classes IX and X candidates was published on March 12, 2018, with the merit list released on August 28, 2018. The appointed candidates began their roles in January and February 2019. However, a series of petitions were filed in the High Court challenging the selection process.

On April 22, 2024, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court invalidated the appointments and ordered that the OMR sheets stored on three hard disks be uploaded on the SSC website. The court directed individuals appointed from outside the panel, after its expiration, or with blank OMR sheets to return all received remuneration with 12% annual interest, or face recovery as arrears of land revenue. The CBI was instructed to interrogate these individuals, potentially through custodial interrogation.

Challenging the High Court order, the West Bengal Government argued that the directive to cancel all appointments based on oral submissions and without any affidavits disregarded the potential vacuum it would create in state schools. The plea, filed through advocate Astha Sharma, noted that the High Court's decision impacts nearly 23,123 teaching and non-teaching staff. The government contended that the High Court failed to consider the ramifications of terminating such a large number of employees without sufficient time to manage the resulting educational standstill. They highlighted that the CBI inquiry and SSC affidavit only identified irregularities in 4,327 appointments.

The government also criticized the High Court's directive for the SSC to conduct a fresh selection process within two weeks post-election results, arguing that it would leave schools severely understaffed. Furthermore, the government lamented that it was not given the opportunity to respond to allegations during the High Court proceedings, thus violating principles of natural justice. The West Bengal Government's petition underscores the need for a balanced approach to address the recruitment irregularities without disrupting the state's educational system.

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