Cal HC stays single bench order of CBI inquiry into school staff recruitment case

A division bench comprising justices Harish Tandon and Rabindranath Samanta of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted an interim stay on a CBI enquiry ordered by a single bench into alleged irregularities in appointments of GroupD workers in aided and sponsored schools by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).

The court directed the WBBSE and state School Service Commission to submit in sealed covers documents related to the appointments to the Registrar General of the high court by the end of court hours. While the single-bench order has been stayed for three weeks on an appeal by the West Bengal government. The matter will come up for hearing again on Monday, the court directed.

The West Bengal government along with WBBSE and WBSSC moved the division Bench of the Calcutta High Court against the single bench order of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a preliminary inquiry into alleged irregularities in the appointment of Group ‘D’ employees in schools run by the state.

In a strongly worded order on Monday, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had noted that “corruption is writ large” in the entire process. The Bureau has been ordered to constitute a Committee, headed by an officer not below the rank of a Joint Director, with officers not below the rank of DIG to initiate the enquiry. They are also to investigate into any money trail in issuance of such recommendation letters and subsequent issuance of appointment letters to the persons. The preliminary report is to be filed on December 21.

In 2016, the State government had recommended the appointment of about 13,000 non-teaching staff in different government aided schools and accordingly the WBSSC had conducted examinations and interviews periodically and thereafter a panel had been constituted.

Sandeep Pradsad v. State of West Bengal