Kolkata, Nov 24 (TIWN) In a major relief to the West Bengal government, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court granted interim stay on the CBI inquiry ordered by a single bench into the alleged irregularities in the appointment of Group-D workers by the School Service Commission (SSC) in aided and sponsored schools of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).

On Monday, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay passed the order while hearing a petition filed by some job aspirants claiming that the said appointments were made after the expiry of the panel set up to recruit for Group D posts in state-run schools.  The single-judge bench directed the CBI to hold a preliminary inquiry into the alleged irregularities and submit a report by December 21. The court said it will pass further orders after the submission of the preliminary inquiry report by the central agency. 

Challenging the order, the Trinamool Congress government on Tuesday moved the division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Rabindranath Samanta. The case has been admitted and is likely to be heard on Wednesday.  The petitioners had produced before the court a list of 25 such appointees who they claimed were illegally recruited. They later claimed that more than 500 additional such appointments were made.  The WBBSE, in its affidavit before the court, had claimed that all the appointments were made on the basis of recommendations by the SSC.  But the commission submitted an affidavit stating that after May 4, 2019, no recommendation letter was issued by it as the term of the panel set up for recruitment of Group D had expired.