Kolkata, 7 May (H.S.) -The Calcutta High Court has imposed an interim stay on the West Bengal government’s plan to appoint teachers under supernumerary posts in the upper primary section of state-run schools, specifically for physical education and work education subjects.
The interim stay was issued on Wednesday by a single-judge bench of Justice Biswajit Basu, following a prolonged hearing. The move comes after the state government attempted to fill vacancies from a waiting list of candidates by creating additional posts beyond the sanctioned strength.
This is not the first instance of judicial intervention in the matter. Last month, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, upheld a Calcutta High Court order that had cancelled 25,753 teaching and non-teaching appointments in secondary and higher secondary schools due to irregularities in the recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). However, the apex court did not object to the state’s plan to create supernumerary posts in the upper primary segment.
Subsequently, the state government sought the Calcutta High Court’s approval to proceed with the recruitment under these new posts. But the court has now stalled the move, pending further hearings. The matter is scheduled to be heard again on June 18.
In a related development, a group of aspiring candidates recently staged a protest outside the chamber of senior advocate and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, criticizing him for his legal interventions that allegedly led to job cancellations in the state’s school education system. During the protest, derogatory remarks were also made against Justice Biswajit Basu, citing his critical observations in previous cases linked to the school jobs scam.
Taking serious note of the incident, Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam directed Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma to identify the protestors and initiate an investigation. The court has also registered a suo motu contempt of court case in connection with the matter.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
