Barring ‘tainted' candidates amounts to double jeopardy: SSC to HC

Time of India

3 days ago

Kolkata: State school service commission (SSC) and Bengal govt on Wednesday argued against Calcutta High Court's single bench order barring 1,801 "tainted" candidates from participating in the fresh recruitment process.
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SSC told a division bench that these candidates could not be subjected to "double jeopardy".
The last date for applications is July 14.
SSC's lawyer and senior MP Kalyan Banerjee argued in the division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De that once Supreme Court scrapped the 2016 selection panel, there remained no reason to separate the tainted from the untainted.
Unconvinced by the argument, Justice Sen said: "Are you (SSC) in a position to argue for the tainted candidates? How are you even affected by it?"
Banerjee said: "There cannot be two punishments for the same crime.
The apex court set aside the entire panel. By this line of argument, even those students who were taught by these tainted candidates have to be barred from school."
Justice Sen responded: "You basically want to say that even though they were undeserving to be teachers, the fact that they taught for around a decade in schools, their experience makes them eligible. Is this what you are trying to argue?"
Banerjee said yes, adding: "We want the 1,801 tainted teachers to be allowed to participate."
Appearing for the state, advocate general Kishore Datta argued: "The right to employment under Article 16 is also the right to apply (for the job). Whatever the court order, let it not take away a person's right to livelihood."
HC will hear the case again on Thursday.
'Untainted OBC' teachers move HC: "Untainted" teachers, who belonged to OBC categories A and B, later struck down by Calcutta High Court's division bench, approached HC as they are unable to participate in the new recruitment process.
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Approximately 2,500 teachers, who lost their jobs in 2016, are unable to be part of the fresh recruitment process for classes 9-10 and 11-12. These teachers have been excluded from the state's new OBC list, which is post-2010. In 2016, during recruitment, the qualification at the graduate level ranged from 45%-49%, but according to the new recruitment rules, the requirement is 50%. The matter will be heard on Thursday by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.
Kolkata: State school service commission (SSC) and Bengal govt on Wednesday argued against Calcutta High Court's single bench order barring 1,801 "tainted" candidates from participating in the fresh recruitment process. SSC told a division bench that these candidates could not be subjected to "double jeopardy".
The last date for applications is July 14.
SSC's lawyer and senior MP Kalyan Banerjee argued in the division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De that once Supreme Court scrapped the 2016 selection panel, there remained no reason to separate the tainted from the untainted.
Unconvinced by the argument, Justice Sen said: "Are you (SSC) in a position to argue for the tainted candidates? How are you even affected by it?"
Banerjee said: "There cannot be two punishments for the same crime. The apex court set aside the entire panel. By this line of argument, even those students who were taught by these tainted candidates have to be barred from school."
Justice Sen responded: "You basically want to say that even though they were undeserving to be teachers, the fact that they taught for around a decade in schools, their experience makes them eligible. Is this what you are trying to argue?"
Banerjee said yes, adding: "We want the 1,801 tainted teachers to be allowed to participate."
Appearing for the state, advocate general Kishore Datta argued: "The right to employment under Article 16 is also the right to apply (for the job). Whatever the court order, let it not take away a person's right to livelihood."
HC will hear the case again on Thursday.
'Untainted OBC' teachers move HC: "Untainted" teachers, who belonged to OBC categories A and B, later struck down by Calcutta High Court's division bench, approached HC as they are unable to participate in the new recruitment process.
Approximately 2,500 teachers, who lost their jobs in 2016, are unable to be part of the fresh recruitment process for classes 9-10 and 11-12. These teachers have been excluded from the state's new OBC list, which is post-2010. In 2016, during recruitment, the qualification at the graduate level ranged from 45%-49%, but according to the new recruitment rules, the requirement is 50%. The matter will be heard on Thursday by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.