SC stays CBI probe against West Bengal government officers in teachers' recruitment case

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a stay order on any further probe into the illegal appointments within the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). However, the order regarding the termination of 25,000 teachers recruited illegally, has not been stayed.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a CBI probe against West Bengal government officials in a teachers' recruitment case, providing relief to the Mamata Banerjee government.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by the state government challenging a high court ruling that invalidated the School Service Commission's (SSC) appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching personnel in state-run and state-aided schools.

"We will stay the direction which says the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) will undertake further investigation against officials in the state government," said a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra.

On April 26, the High Court ruled that the West Bengal School Service Commission's (WBSCC) 2016 recruiting panel for school teachers was invalid. The panel instructed the CBI to conduct additional investigations into the selection process and submit a report within three months.

Two days after the High Court order, the Trinamool Congress government approached the Supreme Court, challenging the verdict. The Mamata administration claimed that the High Court, based on oral representations and in the absence of any document on record, unilaterally revoked the appointments and the whole selection process without providing the government any time to make any required arrangements.

The High Court had also ordered the re-evaluation of as many as 23 lakh OMR sheets (test paper) of the recruitment entrance exam that had been conducted.