New Delhi/IBNS: In a blow to the Mamata Banerjee government, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Calcutta High Court order that had quashed the entire recruitment of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff by the School Service Commission (SSC) in West Bengal.

A top court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said the selection process was "vitiated and tainted by fraud".

The CJI said employees whose appointments have been cancelled need not have to return their salaries. 

The court has directed the state government to order a fresh selection process which should be completed within three months. 

In April 2024, the Calcutta High Court had cancelled recruitment of nearly 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in government-sponsored and government-aided schools, dismissing the entire 2016 teacher recruitment panel.

The panel was constituted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Erstwhile state education minister Partha Chatterjee, former primary education board president and Trinamool MLA Manik Bhattacharya, youth leader Kuntal Ghosh are among the people who were arrested so far in connection with the scam.

Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Ganguly, who is now contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.

'Crushing defeat for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee'

In reaction to the judgement, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X, "Crushing defeat for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the Supreme Court upholds the Calcutta High Court’s decision invalidating nearly 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff appointments made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016."

"...Mamata Banerjee’s close aide, Partha Chatterjee—who served as the Education Minister and was caught with wads of cash—is already in jail for his role in the scam. The Chief Minister, under whose watch this massive fraud ruined the careers of thousands of youths, must also be held accountable and face trial."

Lashing out at the Trinamool Congress government, CPI-M senior leader Sujan Chakraborty said, "The government sacrificed the eligible candidates for the sake of ineligible candidates. What will now happen to the eligible candidates? People should throw out this government immediately."