Setback for Mamata government: SC upholds Calcutta HC order to cancel recruitment of 25,000 teachers, non-teaching staff in government schools

Photo/Agencies NEW DELHI: In a big setback to the Mamata Banerjee led Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Thursday uphheld a Calcutta high court decision to cancel the recruitment of 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff to government schools , saying the entire process is tainted and vitiated. A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the entire selection process for recruitment of teachers was "vitiated and tainted" because of large-scale and pervasive manipulations and the subsequent attempts to cover-up the manipulations. "The entire selection process is rightly declared vitiated because of widespread irregularities," the SC said.

However, the Apex Court clarified that those recruited earlier need not return the salaries they received during their employment. The court also ordered fresh selection process for the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff to government and government aided schools in West Bengal..