The Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered a preliminary inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged irregularities in the appointment of Group-D staff in government schools by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE). West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).
The court was hearing a plea by some job aspirants who had challenged the appointments on the ground that the panel had recommended 25 names after their tenure was over.
Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay directed the CBI to submit a report before the court by December 21.
The court will pass further orders after the preliminary inquiry report is submitted by the central agency.
On the other hand, the state government is contemplating to move a division bench to challenge the order of the single judge bench.
“It is clear from the order of the court that there has been rampant corruption in the recruitment of Group-D employees. The state government could not deny it and hence requested for a probe headed by a retired judge. We had no objection to this as we wanted any kind of investigation in this matter. But the court said that the inquiry should not be conducted by any person who is influenced by the state government. It ordered that the CBI would conduct a preliminary inquiry into the matter. Once the investigating agency submits its preliminary report, the court will look into it and pass further orders,” said advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing for the petitioners.
“As of now, CBI will collect all the documents related to the case to find out who is responsible for it. Once this is done and a preliminary report is submitted, only then can criminal proceedings start against him,” Bhattacharya said.
The petitioners had initially placed before the court a list of 25 such appointments who were recruited “illegally”. Later, he claimed that over 500 additional such appointments were made. WBBSE had claimed in its affidavit that all the appointments were made on the basis of the recommendations of SSC.
But the Commission argued that no such recommendation was made after its term ended on May 4, 2019.
Responding to the court’s order, BJP Leader Sayantan Basu said, “We welcome this order. All the departments of the state government should be investigated by the CBI.
TMC MLA Tapas Roy said, “The court has passed an order today and the investigation will continue as per its direction. There is no point in losing our sleep over this.”
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