WBSSC case: Trial process in CBI-registered cases to start today, witnesses to record statements
WBSSC Scam Trial Kicks Off in Kolkata: Key Details on School Jobs Irregularities
The much-talked-about West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) scam is finally heading to trial. Starting this Friday afternoon, a special court in Kolkata will dive into the cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This multi-crore cash-for-jobs controversy has rocked the state, and now the legal wheels are turning fast.
According to sources, the trial begins with recording statements from witnesses listed in the CBI’s charge sheet and supplementary documents. Expect this to run through the afternoon on Friday, spill over to Saturday, and continue on Monday. Once that’s done, lawyers from both sides will jump into arguments and counterarguments, laying out their cases on the WBSSC recruitment irregularities.
Just in the last 10 days, the court wrapped up charge-framing for several related cases. This paves the way for the trial to focus on shady recruitments for secondary, higher secondary, and upper primary teachers, plus non-teaching staff in Group-C and Group-D categories at state-run schools. All these hires happened under the WBSSC banner, but allegations of bribes and backdoor entries have tainted the process.
Remember the big Supreme Court ruling earlier this year? The top court scrapped the entire 2016 panel of 25,753 school jobs, saying it was impossible to separate honest, merit-based hires from those who allegedly paid their way in. That decision created a massive shake-up in West Bengal’s education sector.
Fresh hope is on the horizon, though. Earlier this month, the state held written exams for new recruitments to fill those vacant secondary and higher secondary teacher posts, following the court’s order.
Two powerhouse central agencies—the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED)—are digging deep into the WBSSC scam. They’ve zeroed in on Partha Chatterjee, former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General, as the main accused behind it all.
There’s more to this cash-for-school-job saga. It also involves alleged irregularities in primary teacher recruitments, handled by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE). Chatterjee faces the same spotlight here as the key figure. But timelines are fuzzy—no clear word yet on when charge-framing will finish or trials will start for these primary teacher cases.
As Kolkata’s special court takes on this WBSSC recruitment scam, eyes are on how it unfolds. Stay tuned for updates on this major blow to fair hiring in West Bengal schools.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
