West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court order that stayed the Calcutta High Court verdict of cancelling more than 25,000 school jobs, and said she is “very happy and mentally relaxed” after getting justice in the apex court. The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, permitted the CBI to continue with its investigation and probe even members of the state cabinet. The top court, however, asked the CBI not to take any precipitate action like arresting a suspect during the investigation. “I am really very happy and mentally relaxed on receipt of justice at the highest Court of the land. Congratulations to the entire teaching fraternity and my humble regards to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” Banerjee said in a post on X. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesSpeaking in a similar vein, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said truth has triumphed. “The Honorable Supreme Court has DEFUSED the BJP’s ‘EXPLOSIVE’ hurled last week to malign Bengal’s image and destabilise WB government. TRUTH HAS TRIUMPHED! We will continue to defy all odds and stand shoulder to shoulder with the people until our last breath,” he wrote on X. Earlier in the day, it termed the alleged scam as a “systemic fraud” and said the state authorities were duty-bound to maintain digitised records pertaining to the appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff. The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court’s April 22 decision that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff.
The BJP, however, claimed that corruption in school recruitment in West Bengal has been proven in the court.
“The TMC is neck-deep in corruption in this scam. They cannot evade their responsibilities,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
The TMC-led West Bengal government had challenged the Calcutta High Court order, saying it cancelled the appointments “arbitrarily”.