West Bengal SSC scam: Calcutta HC bars Mamata Banerjee govt from providing aid for non-teaching job aspirants

The Calcutta High Court on Friday restrained the West Bengal government from implementing a scheme to provide monetary assistance for non-teaching staff who lost their jobs following the Supreme Court's order in the School Service Commission recruitment scam. 

The Calcutta High Court barred the state government from implementing the scheme till September 26 or further orders. Hearing the matter, a bench led by Justice Amrita Sinha passed an interim order restricting the state government from implementing the scheme. 

Close to 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff lost their jobs after the Supreme Court held the entire selection process in 2016 tainted and the top court cancelled the whole selection panel. The top court had, however, granted interim relief to the “untainted” or qualified teachers who lost their jobs. The court allowed these teachers to continue working until December 31, the deadline by which the state must complete a new round of recruitment.

However, the West Bengal government had introduced a scheme as an interim relief for Group C and Group D workers who were recruited through the 2016 selection process and lost their jobs following the court order. The scheme aimed to provide limited livelihood, support and social security on humanitarian grounds, on a temporary basis, PTI reported.

The High Court had on June 9 reserved judgment on the petitions, which opposed the payment of Rs 25,000 each to Group C and Rs 20,000 each to Group D employees, who lost their jobs following the Supreme Court's order. 

The Court directed the state government to file its affidavit responding to petitioners' contentions within four weeks.