School Jobs Scam: Calcutta HC Directs State to Decide on Granting Sanction to Prosecute Accused

The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal chief secretary on Tuesday to make a decision by May 2 regarding the sanction for prosecution of former public servants apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the 2016 school jobs case, which resulted in the annulment of over 25,500 appointments the previous day.

A division bench warned that failure to comply with this directive would lead the court to initiate appropriate action against him.

Another division bench of the high court revoked 25,753 appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools on Monday, deeming the recruitment process of the State Level Selection Test (SLST) 2016 by the School Service Commission null and void. Pointing out that the CBI’s application for sanction of prosecution of these individuals has been pending since 2022, a division bench chaired by Justice Joymalya Bagchi instructed the chief secretary to decide on the sanction of prosecution of the accused, arrested two years ago, by May 2.

Emphasizing that the grant of sanction is crucial for the commencement of the trial, the court stressed the legal requirement for the sanctioning authority to promptly decide on the matter. “While making a decision, he should not be influenced by the position, authority, or power of the accused individuals and should independently decide on the matter,” the division bench, also comprising Justice Gaurang Kanth, stated.

Bail Pleas

The court issued the order during the hearing of bail petitions by the accused persons, including Partha Chatterjee, a former education minister of the state. Their lawyers argued for bail due to the delay, asserting that they have been in custody for nearly two years due to the absence of sanction for prosecution of some of the former public servants.

CBI

During the previous hearing, the CBI informed the court that the governor of West Bengal had granted sanction to prosecute Chatterjee. The division bench considered the bail petitions of Chatterjee, former secretary of West Bengal School Service Commission Ashok Saha, ex-SSC chairman Subires Bhattacharyya, and former chairman of SSC’s advisory committee Santi Prasad Sinha, who have been in custody for about two years in connection with the case.

The court questioned whether these accused individuals are so influential that they can delay the sanction process for one and a half years. On April 9, the bench expressed dissatisfaction with the delay in granting sanction and instructed the chief secretary to make a decision by April 23.

In its judgment on Monday, another division bench chaired by Justice Debasgsu Basak noted the delay in granting sanction for prosecution of the accused persons. However, the bench refrained from issuing any directives to the chief secretary regarding this matter, as a coordinate bench had previously ordered the expeditious disposal of the application for sanction.

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