Calcutta HC stays CBI probe into SSC appointments

The order passed by the division bench comprising Justices Harish Tandon and Rabindranath Samanta came after the state government moved the high court against the single bench order for a CBI inquiry into the matter.

Staying the order of the single bench of Justice Abhjit Gangopadhyay for three weeks, the division bench directed the WBBSE and the state School Service Commission to submit the documents related to the appointments to the registrar general of the high court by the end of court hours. The matter will come up for hearing again on Monday, the court said.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had stopped the salary of 25 Group D staff on the ground of alleged foul play in their appointments by the WBBSE based on the "recommendations" of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBSSC). 

The court had also asked both the SSC and the WBBSE to file an affidavit on the recruitments. The petitioners had alleged that there are more than 5,000 people who have been given appointments after the recruitment process was over.

In 2016, the state had recommended the recruitment of about 13,000 fourth class staff in different schools of the state, and accordingly, the WBSSC conducted examinations and interviews periodically and a panel was also formed. The term of the panel ended in 2019. 

There were widespread allegations that the commission made lots of irregular recruitments -- not less than 500 -- even after the expiry of the panel. There were allegations that recruitments were made from the regional office of the commission.

A case was filed in the high court against the appointment of 25 of them and it came up to the single bench of Gangopadhyay on Tuesday.