## Calcutta High Court Cancels 2016 State-Level Teacher and Staff Appointments in West Bengal
The Calcutta High Court has delivered a landmark judgment, cancelling all appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff made through the 2016 state-level test in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools. This decision impacts a total of 24,000 jobs, affecting teachers recruited under Group C, D, and IX, X, XI, XII categories.
The division bench comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi also directed the appointed individuals to return their salaries within six weeks. Additionally, the court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh recruitment drive and confirmed that the CBI will continue its investigation into the alleged scam.
The court's order encompasses all appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in various government-sponsored and aided schools across the state. These appointments were made through the 2016 state-level test conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).
The CBI, acting on a High Court order, investigated the case and arrested former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and other officials associated with the WB SSC during the alleged scam.
The division bench, formed by the Chief Justice of the High Court following a Supreme Court directive, extensively reviewed numerous petitions and appeals related to the SSC's selection of candidates for teacher and staff positions in classes IX, X, XI, XII, and Group C and D categories through the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST).
Over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the SLST-2016, vying for 24,640 vacant posts. A total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued against these vacancies, according to Firdaus Shamim, a lawyer representing some of the petitioners.
The division bench rejected a stay on the order requested by some appellants.
Following the High Court's decision, hundreds of school job aspirants gathered outside the court erupted in celebration, with many overcome with emotion. "We had been waiting for this day," one of them expressed. "After years of struggle on the streets, justice has finally been delivered.