New Delhi, Jul 16 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the completion of pleadings in a batch of petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court verdict, which had cancelled 25,753 appointments in teaching and non-teaching posts in the state-run schools made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.

Adjourning the hearing, a bench presided over by Justice DY Chandrachud gave “one last opportunity” to the private respondents (i.e. individuals who had instituted writ petitions before the high court) to file their counter affidavits within a period of two weeks.

The Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, nominated four nodal counsels to facilitate the circulation of a common compilation of pleadings in the matter.

Earlier on May 7, the top court had stayed the operation of the impugned order passed by the Calcutta High Court. The SC had allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue with its investigation into the alleged scam but restricted the agency from taking any coercive action against the candidates or officials.

In an order passed in the third week of April, the Calcutta High Court had nullified the appointment of the candidates selected from the expired panels and asked them to return the entire salary drawn during their tenures, along with an annualised interest of 12 per cent, within the next four weeks.

Besides directing the WBSSC to initiate the recruitment process afresh, the division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi of the high court also directed the probe agency to carry on with its investigation into the matter.

Taking cognisance of the state Cabinet’s decision for the creation of super-numeric posts, it had said that the CBI, if necessary, can question the masterminds behind the creation of the seats in excess of the vacant posts.

These super-numeric posts, which have remained under the cloud since the beginning, are perceived to provide room for ineligible candidates recruited illegally.