The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed that a petitioner, who was deprived of employment as a teacher, be appointed to the post vacated by West Bengal minister Paresh Adhikari's daughter Ankita Adhikari, who was found to have illegally secured the job. The court also directed that the salary amount returned by Anita, who was a teacher at Indira High School in Cooch Behar district, be handed over to petitioner Babita Sarkar. The court had earlier ordered Anita's dismissal from the job as a teacher in the higher secondary section of the school on finding that she had been illegally appointed by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) on recommendation from the state's School Service Commission (SSC).
It had ordered her to deposit the salary drawn during the period of her employment to the registry of the high court. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay said that Babita Sarkar be given the job by June 30 and that she can join by July 10. Sarkar had moved the high court claiming that she, despite having been in the panel of 20 selected candidates, had her name struck off to accommodate Anita, whose name then appeared at the top of the panel and was given appointment at Indira Girls High School at Mekhliganj in Coochbehar.
The SSC later admitted before the court that Anita’s name did not find a place in the list after the personality test on candidates was conducted. The minister had earlier appeared before the CBI on an order of the court in connection with the appointment of her daughter as a teacher. The high court has ordered CBI investigation in several cases alleging irregularities in appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools.
(With PTI Inputs)
