For Suman Malakar (name changed), the Calcutta High Court's decision on Monday, 22 April, to cancel the appointments of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff – made through the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) – has come as a huge setback.
A division bench passed this order in connection with the SSC scam, in which the commission allegedly made "dubious recruitments" after receiving bribes from candidates.
Malakar is on the list of people who have lost their jobs due to the court's order.
The court declared the entire School Service Commission recruitment panel of 2016 "null and void," as a result of which all appointments from 9th to 12th and groups C and D, where irregularities were found, stood cancelled.
Malakar grew up in a family with limited means and resources and started appearing for competitive exams immediately after his graduation.
"I wanted to make ends meet and help my family out. Apart from the School Service Commission exam in 2016, I also took other exams for state and central government jobs. In 2018, I got an appointment letter for the post of 'Goods Guard' of Group C of Railways. I took that job, but in 2019, I got another job in a high school in Alipurduar district," he told The Quint.
"Thinking of my family and the opportunity to work from home, I left the railway job and took up the teaching job. Many people like me got our jobs transparently. I understand very well how something like this can mentally break a person."
He added that the school he teaches in is on summer vacation. "Hopefully, we will be reinstated before the school opens. I am the sole breadwinner of my family, and I cannot afford to lose my job."
'Left My Job as a Constable to Teach Students'
Pradeep Majumdar, a resident of Ranaghat in Nadia district of West Bengal, too, has a similar story.
Majumdar worked as a police constable for almost a decade. In 2016, his name appeared in the SSC panel. In 2018, he quit his job as a constable and joined as a teacher in a government school a little away from home.
"There were days when I was out the whole night patrolling and then I used to return home in the morning and sit with a book and prepare for the SSC exams. Working as a cop is tough. There are no fixed hours... fewer holidays. I, therefore, wanted a job of a teacher so that I could spend more time with my family," he told The Quint.
Majumdar has elderly parents, his wife, and a two-year-old daughter to take care of. "I did not take any shortcut or pay anybody to help me get the teaching job," he told The Quint.
He added that he regretted leaving his police job. "At least, it guaranteed a fixed salary every month," he added.
Rakhi Mondal (name changed) is also among the 25,000 people who have lost their jobs. But her biggest worry is the high court directing them to return their salaries with an interest of 12 percent per annum within four weeks.
Mondal, who got her job in 2018, told The Quint she has no means to return the salary in time.
"I used to get about Rs 55,000 as salary every month. Now the court is asking me to return my whole salary that I earned these five years within four months. Where am I supposed to get so much of money from?" Mondal is a single mother who also has to support her elderly parents.
What is the Scam About?
In 2016, nearly 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the state-level selection Test (SLST) for 24,640 vacant teacher positions in West Bengal.
Following the exam, there were widespread allegations of corruption. A section of unsuccessful candidates launched a campaign, alleging that many of the selected candidates had allegedly paid bribes to be recruited.
In 2021, former Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay (who is now the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat), directed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a probe into the allegations.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), too, began probing the cases. Several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including former minister Partha Chatterjee, have been arrested in the case.
While passing its order on 22 April, the high court said: "We have given anxious consideration to the passionate plea that persons who had obtained the appointments legally would be prejudiced if we cancel the entire selection process... we have hardly been left with a choice. We would rather have persons of integrity appointed as teachers through an untainted selection process... than expose students to elements securing appointments through an unscrupulous selection process," as per Frontline.
The court also directed the CBI to take up additional investigations into the alleged irregularities.
A Setback to TMC Amid Polls?
The Calcutta HC order is a major setback to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party TMC. It comes at a particularly crucial time as the party is campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
The TMC is already under fire for the Sandeshkhali episode, where allegations of systematic sexual abuse of women were raised against a former TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides.
BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that the scam took place only because the "Mamata Banerjee government did not submit a list containing the names of the ineligible persons, who had secured jobs by giving money to Trinamool leaders… So, those who got the jobs in a proper manner are also suffering." He further added that around 5,000 were illegally recruited.
Hours after the Calcutta HC observed that were "anomalies" in the appointment process, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her government would challenge the "illegal" ruling in the Supreme Court.
"Those who lost their jobs should not worry, be depressed, or anxious about their lives," Banerjee said.
"We are challenging the entire verdict because it puts the lives of 26,000 people and their families at risk, taking the number of affected to 1.5-2 lakh. After working for eight years, they have been asked to return their salaries in four weeks. Is it possible to do this?" she asked.
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