Calcutta HC stays CBI enquiry order in West Bengal school recruitment irregularities

KOLKATA: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday stayed a single-bench order that directed CBI to enquire into alleged irregularities in appointments of Group D workers in government-aided and sponsored schools in West Bengal. Earlier in the day, the single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to take charge of the enquiry into the allegations in the appointment process in such schools under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) by Wednesday morning and submit a progress report by March 15.

Soon after, the state government challenged the order before the division bench of the high court. The division bench, comprising justices Harish Tandon and Rabindranath Samanta, stayed the order of the single bench and said that the matter would be taken up for further hearing on the next Monday. It also stated the single bench will not take up the matter till further orders.

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The division bench had on December 6 last year set aside a similar order of the single bench that had directed a CBI enquiry into the alleged irregularities in the appointments of Group D workers in government-aided and sponsored schools under the WBBSE. It had also constituted a three-member special probe team which is being overseen by Justice (retired) R K Bag.

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The division bench had directed the team to submit its report in two months. The team was given a two-month extension by the division bench on Monday to continue its probe. The team comprises one member each from West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC), WBBSE and a practising lawyer at the high court. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had on November 22 last year ordered the CBI to conduct an enquiry into the alleged irregularities in the appointment of Group D staffers in government-aided and sponsored schools under WBBSE on purported recommendations by the state's School Service Commission and to find out whether there is any money trail involved.

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The order of Justice Gangopadhyay was passed on a petition by some job aspirants claiming that appointments were given to persons after expiry of the panel proposed for the posts of Group D staff in aided-sponsored secondary and higher secondary schools in the state. The petitioners had produced a list of such alleged appointees before the court.