West Bengal schools recruitment case: Supreme Court uphold Calcutta High Court order, invalidates 25,753 teachers’ appointments

The Supreme Court said employees, whose appointments have been invalidated, do not have to return their salaries and other emoluments. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Thursday (April 3, 2025) upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal, calling the appointments “vitiated and tainted”.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing pleas against the Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024.

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Employees, whose appointments have been invalidated, do not have to return their salaries and other emoluments, CJI Khanna said, pronouncing the verdict.

The West Bengal government should initiate a new selection process and complete it within three months, the top court said. However, disabled employees would remain in the job, the court said, allowing them to continue on humanitarian grounds.

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Another plea against the Calcutta High Court’s order for a CBI probe into the issue will be heard on Friday (April 4, 2025), the Supreme Court said.

On February 10, 2025, the Supreme Court reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions in the matter. The Calcutta High Court, in April 2024, citing irregularities such as OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping, invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and state-aided schools of West Bengal.

(With PTI inputs)