Modified order offers relief; humanitarian grounds in focus despite tough verdict
Telegraph | 5 April 2025
The Supreme Court has upheld Calcutta High Court's order on the termination of teaching and non-teaching staff in government-aided schools but modified the order to offer some relief to those counted among the "untainted".
Age relaxation
The written order says candidates who are not "specifically tainted will also be eligible to participate with appropriate age relaxation".
The age relaxation will enable candidates who wrote the 2016 test in the recruitment process, consisting of written tests and interviews, irrespective of their age at present.
"In our opinion, such a direction would be fair and just, as it would allow these candidates to take part in the fresh selection process, which should now be initiated to fill the vacancies," says the order signed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee referred to the age relaxation at her news conference on Thursday afternoon.
"The Supreme Court has ordered that the recruitment process has to be completed within three months to fill the vacancies. The court has also given the candidates age relaxation so they can write the tests," the chief minister said at the state secretariat.
A lawyer representing the candidates who did not get jobs because of the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process conducted by the SSC, Sudipto Dasgupta, said: "It is unfortunate that the deserving candidates had to suffer because the state attempted to cover up the irregularities. The court had to give some relief by allowing the age relaxation."
Reinstatement
The court order says some of the appointed candidates "who do not fall within the category of tainted candidates" may have previously worked in different departments of the state government or with autonomous bodies.
"In such cases, although their appointments are cancelled, these candidates will have the right to apply to their previous departments or autonomous bodies to continue in service with those entities."
The order mentions that these applications must be processed by the respective government departments or bodies within three months, and the candidates will be allowed to resume their positions. The period between the termination of their previous appointment and their rejoining will not be considered a break in service.
Soma Das
The court said that its attention had been drawn to one case where the "impugned judgment (Calcutta High Court's order) held that the appointee, Ms. Soma Das, shall be allowed to continue on humanitarian grounds".
Das is a cancer patient, and the high court had asked the SSC to give her the job of an assistant teacher in 2023.
Differently abled
The order clarified that while the court would not interfere with the high court's ruling on Soma Das, they made it clear that other differently-abled candidates will not be entitled to the same benefit.
"However, in consideration of their disability, these candidates will be permitted to continue and will receive wages until the fresh selection process and appointments are completed," it says.