The West Bengal government Tuesday appointed Prof Siddhartha Majumder as the acting chairman of West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBCSSC), 24 hours after its chairman was indicted by the Calcutta High Court in connection with irregularities in the recruitment of a teacher.

Majumder, an associate professor of City College, was first inducted as a member of the commission and asked to officiate as the chairman of WBCSSC till further notice.

Majumder takes charge from Subha Shankar Sarkar, the full-time chairman of West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBCSSC), with immediate effect.

A notice issued by the school education department said "the governor is pleased to appoint Siddhartha Majumder, Associate Professor of City College as a member in the West Bengal Central School Service Commission and he will also act as Chairman of the central commission in addition to his normal duties until further order. The order will take immediate effect."

The High Court on Monday had pulled up the WBCSSC chairman for bypassing a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) applicant and appointing candidates below her on the waiting list.

The court asked him to pay the candidate Rs 20,000, and arrange for the applicant's counselling against immediate vacancies.

The court had also observed it had serious "doubt about the quality of the person who is manning the post of chairman.....and it is for the education department of the government of West Bengal to see whether such a Chairman can continue as Chairman of WBCSSC or not".