Did the Calcutta HC Order Publication of ‘Untainted’ Non-Teaching Staff List?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- The Calcutta High Court has mandated the publication of a list of 'untainted' non-teaching staff.
- Justice Amrita Sinha emphasized the need for transparency in recruitment.
- The Supreme Court ruling supports age relaxation for eligible staff.
- Allegations of corruption within the 2016 panel have been raised.
- West Bengal has significant vacancies for non-teaching roles.
Kolkata, Dec 3 (NationPress) The Calcutta High Court mandated the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Wednesday to release the list of ‘untainted’ non-teaching personnel within the Group-C and Group-D categories from its 2016 panel, a panel that was entirely annulled following a Supreme Court ruling in April of this year.
Justice Amrita Sinha, presiding over a single-judge bench, instructed the WBSSC to ensure the list is published by Thursday. She emphasized that making the list public is crucial to allow these individuals the opportunity to engage in the upcoming recruitment process and to benefit from necessary age relaxations.
The apex court's division bench had also stated that age relaxations should be afforded to the ‘untainted’ non-teaching staff who lost their jobs due to the cancellation of the entire panel.
Justice Sinha's directives followed a petition alleging severe irregularities in how the WBSSC categorized ‘untainted’ versus ‘tainted’ non-teaching staff within the 2016 panel. Petitioners claimed that numerous ‘tainted’ members, who have been proven to have secured positions through corrupt means, managed to appear on the ‘untainted’ list.
Conversely, the petitioners asserted that several individuals classified as ‘untainted’ were unjustly excluded from the same list.
According to the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling this year, the ‘untainted’ non-teaching staff from the 2016 panel will be eligible for participation in the new recruitment process, while those identified as ‘tainted’ will not.
In total, there are 2,989 vacancies for non-teaching staff in the Group-C category and 5,488 in the Group-D category within West Bengal's state-run schools.