Trinamool suffers major setback as 25,000 Bengal teachers dismissed and asked to refund salary.

The Calcutta High Court has issued an order affecting 25,753 appointees, requiring them to return their salaries with 12% interest. These individuals had been recruited as school teachers after submitting blank OMR sheets, and the court has given them four weeks to comply with the salary return.

District magistrates have been assigned to collect the money from these teachers, with one exception made for an appointee, Soma Das, who is undergoing cancer treatment and will be allowed to keep her job on humanitarian grounds. In addition to the salary return, the court has ordered the CBI to investigate the appointment process and submit a report within three months.

The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has been instructed to initiate a fresh appointment process. Following the court’s order, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused BJP leaders of influencing the judiciary and judgments.

In response, the BJP Bengal criticized the Trinamool government and predicted defeat for Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. The High Court’s order pertains to 24,640 vacant posts, against which 25,753 appointment letters were issued.

These included positions for teachers and group-C and D staffers. The ruling comes after the High Court last year dismissed panels set up by the WBSCC in 2016 and canceled the appointment of 32,000 untrained primary teachers.

The Supreme Court had previously requested the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to form a division bench to hear petitions and appeals in the recruitment case and provided temporary protection to those whose appointments were canceled.