‘Irreplaceable loss': Govt, SSC bat for ‘tainted' teachers, argue against barring them from fresh hiring
The Calcutta High Court on Monday had ordered the WBSSC to rectify its latest notification for the recruitment of over 35,000 school staff, directing it to bar 'identified tainted' candidates of the 2016 selection process from applying this year. It had also directed that if any tainted candidate had applied in order to offer his or her candidature under the recruitment notification, the application would stand cancelled.
During the hearing, in front of the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Smita Das De, senior counsel Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for SSC, submitted, 'After the delivery of the Supreme Court (SC) judgement on April 3, the service of both the tainted and untainted were terminated. Then after the April 17 modification, the untainted were allowed to remain in service till December 31. Even the SC judgement does not say that tainted candidates will not be allowed to participate. SC gave age relaxation for the untainted candidates and the physically handicapped candidates.'
According to Banerjee, the SSC had submitted a report based on the CBI investigation into rank jumping and OMR issues, and the Supreme Court had directed tainted candidates to refund their salaries. Banerjee stated that in the fresh selection process, age relaxation is provided to untainted and disabled candidates only.
However, tainted and unsuccessful candidates were not barred from participating in the examination.
Following this, the Division Bench observed, 'But the persons with so much of fraud, so much of misdemeanour, misconduct will be permitted.'
Banerjee said that denying them participation would amount to double punishment and submitted, 'Penalty was imposed on them for committing the offence, they were asked to pay back their salary and their jobs taken away. Now the question arises, will they get double punishment and punishment for life. Doesn't it violate the Constitution? No criminal charges have been proved against these 'tainted' candidates, stringent punishment has been imposed on them. If they are not allowed to participate it will be double punishment.'
Questioning the Commission's locus in arguing this point, Justice Soumen Sen said, 'What locus has the commission have to argue this point? The person aggrieved must make such appeal. Commission is not the person aggrieved.'
'It is the legislative power of the state to secure the public interest. I have received the application for all. The state's authority is to provide for all. CBI will run an investigation for 7, 10,12 years and in that time the public rights will be affected,' Banerjee submitted.
According to the SSC, filing the application does not guarantee appointment, and even if they are appointed they can be dismissed if convicted. While 2.6 lakh applications have been received, only 188 tainted candidates have applied, the SSC said.
Meanwhile, the Advocate General for the State, Kishore Dutta said, that 'The SC has given the harshest of punishment, but was careful enough not to debar them from future employment. Fundamental rights cannot be curtailed. Can fundamental rights be taken away?'
According to the Court, since the tainted candidates were asked to return their salaries, that experience cannot be counted: 'They have been asked to return their salaries that means that we cannot say that is part of qualifying service. A person who is beneficiary of fraud that period of service cannot be taken as qualifying service. Qualifying service has various factors when complicity is established then this cannot be treated as qualifying service.'
According to the Advocate General, 'Whatever SC wanted to take it has been taken away. If SC wanted to deprive the tainted candidate of their service then they would have said it.'
The court will hear the matter on Thursday.
In April, the SC had cancelled the appointment of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run and-aided institutions after finding that the selection process was tainted.
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