Why Bengal govt is taking time to implement SC's order on cancellation of school jobs: Calcutta HC

Kolkata, April 21 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court, on Monday, observed why the West Bengal government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) are taking time to implement the order by the Supreme Court (SC), cancelling 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools.

Acting on a contempt-of-court petition filed against the state government and WBSSC for not implementing the apex court order, Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi also directed the state government and the commission to explain to the court within a day.

The next hearing on the matter will be on April 23, and the state government and the commission will have to submit their explanations on the same day.

Last year, the same division bench of Justice Basak and Justice Rashidi cancelled 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs, which is the entire panel of WBSSC for 2016. The state government approached the SC challenging the order.

Earlier this month, the SC division bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld the order of the Calcutta High Court and also accepted the observation that the entire panel had to be cancelled because of the failure on the part of the state government and the commission to segregate the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted" ones.

Thereafter, the contempt of court petition was filed at the same division bench of the Calcutta High Court, accusing the state government and the commission of not even initiating the termination of jobs of those who have already been identified as “tainted” by the commission itself.

During the hearing in the matter on Monday, the division bench observed that there will be problems if even the “tainted” candidates continue receiving their salaries.

On Monday, the division bench also raised the question of why the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials are not interrogating those candidates who have already been identified as “tainted.”

The division bench also observed that the CBI should find out how those who were paid money by the “tainted” candidates against jobs.

On Wednesday, the CBI counsel will also have to give an explanation to the court in the matter.

--IANS

src/dan