Thousands of hopeful candidates gathered in despair outside Esplanade’s Shaheed Minar Thursday afternoon, reeling from the Supreme Court’s verdict that quashed the appointments of 25,753 School Service Commission (SSC) teachers and staff.
They saw the verdict as a final betrayal.
Picture by: Soumyajit Dey
For Aftar Ali, the ruling was a blow given he reposed his faith on the apex court.
“In 2016, without spending a single penny anywhere, I studied for 24 hours straight and secured this job. But today, due to political influence, our jobs have been taken away,” the resident of Murshidabad told The Telegraph Online.
“We had complete faith in the Supreme Court — that it would retain those who are eligible and remove those who are not. But even though they have ruled that we are eligible, they have still snatched away our jobs. How is this justice?”
Sagar Mondal, who has been working as a teacher for seven years, stood in silence at a corner.
“I have a BA with first class, an MA with first class, and a B.Ed with first class. Despite the corruption that took place — where everyone submitted white sheets — I studied, worked hard, and passed the exam on merit. And yet, with one blow, everything is gone,” he said.
His voice wavered as he spoke. “How will I face my children? How would I face my parents? How will I stand in front of my students at school? They have put the eligible and the ineligible in the same bracket.”
Sharmistha Bar, another aspirant, feared an impending financial disaster.
“From tomorrow, how will I pay my bank EMI? When I got the job, this case hadn’t even been filed. If I had been warned earlier, I would not have taken on such a huge financial burden. I would not have ended up in this situation. Is this justice? Today, injustice has been upheld. Injustice has won,” she said.
The Supreme Court’s verdict has reinforced the high court’s observations on the rampant corruption in the hiring process.
Picture by: Soumyajit Dey
“Fraud perpetrated and perpetuated is deep and pervasive,” the Calcutta high court had ruled in April last year. “Any attempt to shift the proverbial grain from the chaff would be an unprofitable exercise.”
The apex court agreed, stating that the entire selection process was “vitiated” beyond repair.
“For candidates who have been specifically found to be tainted, their entire selection process has been rightly declared null and void due to egregious violations and illegalities,” CJI Khanna said in his verdict Thursday.
The verdict allows previously employed candidates to return to their old government jobs, but for thousands of others, there is no safety net. The tainted candidates have been barred from reapplying, and even those declared eligible have lost everything they fought for.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee disagreed with the judgment.
"As a citizen of this country, I have every right to have an opinion. I respect the judge and the judiciary, but I can't agree with the judgment," she stated.
Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, asked for Mamata’s resignation.
“Mamata Banerjee alone is responsible for this. She should immediately resign and be arrested,” said Adhikari.
But for the thousands of devastated teachers, their lives have been upended, their years of hard work reduced to nothing.
