The Supreme Court will hear petitions on January 15 challenging the Calcutta High Court’s decision to cancel the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, stated there are two options: either rehear the case with a three-judge bench or continue with the two-judge bench that began final arguments on December 19. It decided to proceed with the two-judge bench on January 15 at 2 PM.

There are 124 petitions pending, including one from the West Bengal government. The court had earlier directed procedural streamlining, appointing four nodal lawyers to compile and organize submissions from all parties.

On May 7, 2024, the Supreme Court provided temporary relief to those affected by the High Court’s cancellation, allowing them to continue in their posts but requiring them to refund salaries if their appointments were found illegal. The CBI was allowed to continue its investigation into alleged irregularities, including possible involvement of state cabinet members, but was instructed not to make arrests during the probe.

The court termed the recruitment irregularities a “systemic fraud” and emphasized maintaining digitized records for the affected appointments.

The controversy stems from the 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST), where over 23 lakh candidates competed for 24,640 posts, but 25,753 appointment letters were issued. The High Court invalidated these appointments, citing procedural violations, and directed the CBI to investigate.

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