In a significant development in West Bengal’s teacher recruitment case, the Calcutta High Court Division Bench has upheld the interim stay on supernumerary appointments in the upper primary education sector. The order originally issued by Justice Biswajit Basu on May 7, remains in effect as the Division Bench led by Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das declined to interfere with the earlier decision.
The state government had moved the Division Bench, seeking relief to proceed with appointments to supernumerary posts, created to absorb candidates from the waiting list in Physical Education and Work Education subjects. However, the court maintained that no recruitment can take place on these extra posts at this stage.
Calcutta High Court Upholds Interim Stay on Supernumerary Appointments in Upper Primary Recruitment
The controversy began in December 2022, when the state attempted to create additional (supernumerary) posts to accommodate waitlisted candidates. The High Court had then issued an interim stay, which remains unchanged despite the state citing a Supreme Court order that refused to intervene in the matter of supernumerary posts related to the cancellation of 26,000 teaching jobs.
The state’s argument hinged on the Supreme Court’s silence on this specific issue, using it as grounds to resume recruitment. But the Division Bench held firm, stating that the Single Bench order would continue to remain effective, halting any appointments under supernumerary provisions.
This judgment leaves thousands of aspiring candidates in limbo, especially those waiting for deployment based on merit list rankings and subject-specific eligibility.
Leave a Reply