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A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud heard an appeal by the West Bengal government against a Calcutta High Court order to cancel approximately 25,000 appointments made by the state school service commission.
The Chief Justice questioned the government's creation of supernumerary posts and hiring of waitlisted candidates while the selection process was being challenged in court.
Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing the Bengal government, argued that the high court order could not be sustained, as it would disrupt the teacher-child ratio.
Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the school service commission, argued that the high court did not have jurisdiction to cancel the jobs and that its orders conflicted with Supreme Court judgments.
The Chief Justice expressed concern about the destruction of OMR sheets and scanned copies of answer sheets, questioning why a tender was not issued for such a sensitive matter.
The Chief Justice also criticized the commission for outsourcing the scanning of answer sheets without retaining digital copies, leading to a breach of security protocols.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, also representing the commission, argued that there were no irregularities on the commission's part and that canceling all appointments would harm the education system.
Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, representing aggrieved job aspirants, alleged that OMR sheets were filed without markings and that there were discrepancies between digital and commission data.
The Supreme Court had previously paused the high court order and asked the CBI to investigate Bengal government officials in connection with the scam.
The high court had canceled the appointments, stating that they violated the Constitution and that retaining appointees selected through a dubious process would be contrary to public interest.
Source: "People Will Lose Faith": Chief Justice's Big Remark In Bengal Jobs Case