Cancellation Of Jobs- Calcutta HC Stays Portion Of Its Order Directing Group D Employees To Refund Salaries
|The Calcutta High Court has stayed the portion of its earlier Order directing 1911 Group D employees to refund salaries.
The Single Judge had directed for cancellation of appointments of the appellants, who were serving in Group-‘D’ Posts selected in the 2016 Recruitment Process after their OMR sheets were found to be manipulated.
The division bench of Justice Subrata Talukdar and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya directed that there will be a stay only of the portion of the Order directing the appellants to refund salaries.
“At this stage, considering the principles of balance of convenience and double jeopardy, there shall be only a stay of the portion of the Order directing the appellants to refund salaries from the date of their appointments as stated in Paragraph 19 of the Order dated 10th February, 2023, until further orders.”, the Division Bench directed.
The Court has now listed the appeals for further hearing on March 3, 2023.
The appellants in all the five appeals represented by their Counsel submitted that the Single Bench passed drastic orders without granting them the opportunity of being heard.
It was further added that not only do the appellants stand to lose their jobs but have been also directed to refund their salaries as well as face the prospect of being debarred from applying for future gainful employment.
On the other hand, Counsel for the Respondents and the Commission submitted that the orders impugned are the culmination of orders by which the Single Bench adjudicated the issues. They submitted that the Single Bench correctly directed cancellation of the appointments of 1911 candidates.
Advocate Partha Sarathi Deb Barman appeared for appellants whereas Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya appeared for Respondents. DSGI Billwadal Bhattacharyya appeared for CBI.
The Single Judge had directed cancellation of the appointments of 1911 candidates after the Court noted that the candidates were recommended owing to manipulation of their OMR sheets in the 2016 Recruitment Process.
Cause Title- Achinta Kumar Mondal & Ors. & Laxmi Tunga and Ors. v. State of West Bengal & Ors.
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