SC to hear whether Mamata Banerjee, as head of Bengal Cabinet, could face CBI scrutiny over irregular school job appointments and creation of extra posts.
The Supreme Court of India is set to hear a crucial plea on Tuesday that could determine whether the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will be allowed to probe the West Bengal Cabinet’s role in the ongoing school jobs recruitment scam. At the center of the controversy is the state cabinet’s approval of supernumerary posts, allegedly created to regularize the appointments of candidates accused of obtaining teaching and non-teaching jobs through corrupt means.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the creation of these posts was a deliberate attempt to protect “tainted” candidates who had secured employment in state-run schools by paying bribes. The BJP further stated that if the Supreme Court lifts its interim stay on the CBI probe, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself could fall under the ambit of the investigation. As the head of the state cabinet, she would be held responsible for decisions taken collectively, the opposition has argued.
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, went so far as to say that Mamata Banerjee could become the second Chief Minister in India after Haryana’s Om Prakash Chautala to be imprisoned in connection with an education-related corruption case. “It’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out,” Adhikari remarked on Monday.
The matter first came under judicial scrutiny in April 2024 when a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, issued an interim stay on the Calcutta High Court’s directive for a CBI investigation into the cabinet’s decision to create supernumerary posts
The matter first came under judicial scrutiny in April 2024 when a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, issued an interim stay on the Calcutta High Court’s directive for a CBI investigation into the cabinet’s decision to create supernumerary posts. The High Court, in its earlier judgment, had expressed concern over the legality and intention behind creating these posts and had even permitted custodial interrogation of those involved if necessary.
According to the High Court, the creation of these extra posts was not aimed at accommodating deserving candidates but was instead designed to retain individuals who had secured jobs through fraudulent means. This interpretation sparked a political firestorm, with opposition parties launching scathing attacks on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.
The latest Supreme Court hearing comes at a particularly difficult time for the Mamata Banerjee-led government. Just last week, the apex court upheld a previous decision by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court to cancel 25,753 teaching and non-teaching job appointments made through the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The court noted that both the state government and the WBSSC had failed to separate genuine candidates from those who were appointed through illegal means, leading to the mass cancellation of jobs.
Political analysts believe that Tuesday’s hearing on the CBI probe could intensify the legal and political challenges facing the TMC. If the Supreme Court allows the probe to proceed, it may not only bring more top-level state officials under the scanner but could also erode public trust ahead of upcoming electoral contests.
Moreover, the implications of the court’s decision are far-reaching. It could set a precedent for holding entire cabinets accountable for controversial administrative decisions, especially in cases involving mass recruitment or public sector appointments. The TMC, however, has consistently maintained that it has nothing to hide and that it will fully cooperate with any judicial or investigative process.
As the Supreme Court prepares to revisit the matter, all eyes will be on the courtroom this Tuesday. The outcome of this hearing could reshape the trajectory of the ongoing investigation and further impact the political landscape of West Bengal, where education-related corruption has emerged as a dominant issue.
