How the SSC skeletons tumbled out

Several court complaints of alleged corruption in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff in state government-aided schools triggered a sequence of events that culminated in the arrest of minister Partha Chatterjee by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday.

The ED is tracking the money trail in the alleged scam, which is also being probed by the CBI.

The alleged irregularities are said to have taken place during Chatterjee’s stint as Bengal’s education minister.

Before his arrest that followed a marathon grilling by ED officials, Chatterjee was interrogated by the CBI twice, once on April 26 and then on May 18

What we know so far about the cases

The cases

• The allegations pertain to the recruitment of group C and D staff and teachers by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) and the appointment of teachers in state-run primary schools. While the SSC appointments happened between 2018 and 20, the primary teachers’ eligibility test (TET) took place in 2015.
• The first set of petitions was filed in Calcutta High Court in August-September 2021 alleging irregularities by the SSC. More cases came up during the course of the hearing by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay. The petitioners alleged that people were given appointments in 2019 after the expiry of a panel drawn up in 2016.
• Initially, the legal scanner was only on the SSC appointments. But on June 8, 2022, a petition was moved before Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay alleging that the state primary education board had appointed many candidates though they had ranked lower in the TET, notified in 2014 and held in 2015.

The journey in court

• On February 28, 2022, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered the CBI to probe alleged malpractices in the selection of teachers for Classes IX and X.
• The same judge had earlier ordered separate CBI probes into the recruitment of group C and D staff in secondary schools.
• A division bench of the high court, headed by Justice Harish Tandon, ordered a stay on both the earlier orders. The division bench had in December last year set up a three-member committee to probe alleged illegal recruitment of group D staff. The committee, chaired by Justice R.K. Bag, retired judge of Calcutta High Court, was eventually tasked with probing the recruitment of group C staff and secondary teachers.
• On March 29 this year, Justice Gangopadhyay issued an order asking the former chief advisor of the SSC, Shanti Prasad Sinha, to furnish details of his properties. The SSC moved an appeal against the order before the division bench, led by Justice Tandon, the same day. The division bench said Sinha could submit the property details in a sealed cover.
• The sealed cover directive triggered a sharp response from Justice Gangopadhyay. On March 30, in an open court, Justice Gangopadhyay expressed his grievances against a particular division bench of the court, which, according to him, had issued stays on orders he had passed in several cases related to the appointment of staff for government-aided secondary schools by SSC. The acts of the said division bench had been “destroying the natural justice system,” he said.
• On April 4, the division bench headed by Justice Tandon refused to hear any matter related to the SSC. Thereafter, two other division benches of the high court declined to hear appeals moved by four former members of the commission’s advisory committee against an order passed by Justice Gangopadhay.
• Finally, a division bench of Calcutta High Court, headed by Justice Subrata Talukdar, agreed to hear the SSC cases. The same bench asked the committee headed by Justice Bag to furnish a report.
• The report said that an advisory panel set up by the personal secretary of then education minister Partha Chatterjee had issued “fake” recommendation letters based on which appointments were made in government and aided schools. The report recommended prosecution against S.P. Sinha, who was chairman of the advisory committee of the commission when the letters were issued, and five other former members.
• On the basis of this report, Justice Talukdar upheld the orders of Justice Gangopadhyay asking the CBI to probe the alleged malpractices in recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff.
• On May 18, the division bench headed by Justice Talukdar gave Justice Gangopadhyay a free hand. “The orders impugned of the hon’ble single bench require no intervention,” it said.

Justice Gangopadhyay had earlier said the CBI was free to interrogate any influential person the agency deemed fit.

• On June 13, the high court bench of Justice Gangopadhyay ordered a CBI investigation into recruitment of teachers in government-aided primary schools by the state’s primary education board based on the teachers’ eligibility test.
• Appeals against the CBI probes ordered by Justice Gangopadhyay — moved by the state government, the council of secondary education, SSC and primary education board and individually by Partha Chatterjee and some of the other accused — were heard by the division bench headed by Justice Talukdar. The division bench has reserved its verdict on the appeals.

The people

• Apart from Partha Chatterjee, some other persons who have so far been linked to the irregularities in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff.
• Paresh Adhikary, Bengal’s minister of state for education. He is under CBI scanner over his daughter’s (Ankita) illegal appointment — dismissed by the high court — in a government-aided school.
• Kalyanmoy Ganguly, past president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
• Shanti Prasad Sinha, chairman of the advisory committee of the SSC when the appointment letters were issued.
• Arpita Mukherjee, who ED said, was an associate of Partha Chatterjee.
• Soumitra Sarkar — appointed chairman of the school service commission in January 2019. Sarkar was removed in January 2020 by then education minister Partha Chatterjee.
• Ashok Kumar Saha —a former secretary of the school service commission, Saha had officiated as chairman of the school service commission from January to December 2020. He has since retired. Saha was also a member of the school service commission advisory committee.
• Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya — Partha Chatterjee’s relative and chairman of a school in Pingla, East Midnapore.
• P.K. Bandyopadhyay — OSD to the then education minister.
• Sukanta Acharjee — personal secretary to the then education minister.
• Manik Bhattacharya — MLA and past president of the state primary education board. He was removed from the post on orders of the high court.