The
Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Calcutta High Court's decision to cancel
the appointment of nearly 25,000 teachers and other staff in state-run and
state-aided schools in West Bengal in 2016 in connection with the school
jobs-for-cash scam.
A
bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay
Kumar noted that "the appointments were vitiated by manipulation and
fraud."
"We
have gone through the facts. Regarding findings of this case, entire selection
process is vitiated by manipulation and fraud and credibility and legitimacy is
denuded," the Court said.
"We
find no reason to interfere with the direction of the High Court that the
services of the tainted candidates, where appointed, must be terminated and
they will be required to refund any salaries and payment they received. Since
the appointments are result of fraud and cheating, we see no justification to alter
this direction," CJI added.
The
court, however, also stated that candidates who have already been employed
don't need to refund the payments made to them so far. It also directed the
authorities to initiate and complete a fresh recruitment process within three
months.
"The fresh selection process can also have
relaxations for untainted candidates," the court added.