00:0026,000 jobs, years of service, now declared invalid, just like that.
00:17On 3rd April 2025, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Calcutta High Court's verdict
00:22that cancelled 25,753 appointments made through the 2016 recruitment drive by the West Bengal
00:28School Service Commission.
00:29The court said the recruitment process was vitiated and tainted, involving massive corruption,
00:35manipulation and destroyed exam records.
00:38These appointments date back to 2016, when the West Bengal SSC conducted exams to fill
00:42teaching and non-teaching posts in government and aided schools.
00:46But what followed was a scam that shook the state.
00:49As it turns out, the entire recruitment drive was built on corruption, manipulation and
00:53missing exam records.
00:55From destroyed OMR sheets to reports of bribes ranging from 5 to 15 lakh rupees, the scam
01:00ran deep.
01:01A CBI probe revealed that digital copies of answer sheets were missing from the servers,
01:05raising serious doubts of foul play.
01:07In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate arrested former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee
01:11and his aide Arpita Mukherjee after more than 50 crore rupees in cash were seized from their
01:17homes.
01:18Allegedly part of the cash-for-jobs scam, he was granted bail in December 2024.
01:22On April 22, 2024, the Calcutta High Court ruled that the entire selection process was
01:27fraudulent.
01:28It ordered the termination of nearly 26,000 staff and directed a CBI investigation.
01:33The state government challenged this in the Supreme Court.
01:36And on April 3, 2025, the Apex Court said it found no valid ground to interfere with
01:41the High Court's direction that the services of tainted candidates must be cancelled and
01:45that they should refund any salary or payment.
01:52All the details of 19,000 candidates are on the website, but there is no allegation
01:59against us or against 19,000 candidates like me.
02:04Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rejected the judgement, saying innocent teachers are being
02:08punished for the government's failures.
02:10What happens to those who were genuinely qualified?
02:12Can a new system fix years of broken trust?
02:14Why are we being punished?
02:17We are not on any of the tainted candidates' lists.
02:22For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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