In an unprecedented move, the single judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday night directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged irregularities into the recruitment of teachers in West Bengal government schools, to seek assistance of central forces in securing the state’s School Service Commission office. It also directed that no one should enter the building till 1 pm Thursday and make the CCTV footage of the office available by Thursday noon.
The HC held a special hearing from 10.40 pm to just before midnight after the incumbent SSC chairperson, Siddhartha Majumdar, stepped down from his post, four months after taking the charge. Following the news of Majumdar’s resignation, lawyers of Sabina Yasmin and Babita Sarkar – the petitioners in the recruitment scam — met Justice Gangopadhyay and told him there was an apprehension that crucial evidence could be tampered with in the wake of the new SSC chairperson taking the charge.
Sources in the government said that IAS officer Subhra Chakraborty has been appointed as the new SSC chairperson .
The midnight hearing concluded after a string of dramatic events in the day that saw state Minister Partha Chatterjee appearing before the CBI in connection with the alleged illegal appointments after he failed to get relief from the Calcutta HC.
Earlier in the day, a Division bench of the High Court upheld the April 12 order of a single judge bench of Justice Gangopadhyay that had directed the CBI to probe into the alleged illegal appointments made by the SSC between 2014 to 2021. Chatterjee was then state Education Minister.
Following the Division Bench upholding its order, Justice Gangopadhyay again directed Chatterjee to appear before the CBI and said that he expected the minister to step down “in the interest of justice”.
Chatterjee, who holds the portfolio of Commerce and Industries Ministry, then moved another Division Bench of the High Court for relief. The Bench, however, refused to hear the minister’s plea. After failing to get relief, Chatterjee reached the CBI office at 5:40 pm on Wednesday.
