WBSSC job case: Calcutta HC allows fresh recruitment with new rules, weightage criteria

Kolkata, July 16 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday allowed the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to apply new rules and weightage criteria in the fresh process for recruiting teachers in the state-run schools.

Notably, the teachers' posts fell vacant following an order of the Supreme Court in April this year, cancelling 25,753 school jobs.

A Division Bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das dismissed the petition challenging the two new weightage criteria introduced in the fresh recruitment notification, carrying 10 marks each, first under the head of "prior teaching experience" and the second under "lecture demonstration".

The petitioners contended that the procedure to be followed in the fresh recruitment process should be the same as that of 2016, the entire panel of which was cancelled by the Supreme Court in April this year.

Although the Division Bench dismissed this petition challenging the two new weightage criteria, it maintained that its earlier order last week for the exclusion of identified "tainted" candidates from participating in the fresh recruitment process would stand, and such candidates would not be allowed to participate in the fresh recruitment process.

The hearing on the petition challenging the two new weightage criteria was concluded on July 14. However, the Bench kept the order reserved on that day. Finally, the order was delivered on Wednesday, bringing relief to the West Bengal government and the WBSSC.

On the petition challenging the new weightage criteria, the state government and WBSSC counsels contended that the Supreme Court in its order in April this year only directed fresh recruitments and did not specify that the fresh recruitment process should follow the same rules as in 2016.

On the other hand, the petitioner's counsel argued that the Supreme Court did not authorise WBSSC to change rules in the fresh recruitment process.

However, finally, the Bench accepted the argument of the state government and WBSSC counsels and rejected the ones from the petitioner's counsels.

--IANS

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