The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of judicial discipline and hierarchy in directing CBI investigations and the consideration of incriminating materials and the role of the committee headed by a retired judge in investigating the matter.

ORDER :

1. This matter is listed in view of the administrative direction passed by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice on March 31, 2022 at 10-45 p.m. by which the applicant/petitioner was permitted to file an appeal and on filing the appeal be listed tomorrow as per roster.

Re: CAN 1 of 2022 (leave to appeal).

2. The application for leave to prefer an appeal, being CAN 1 of 2022, is allowed as the appellant/petitioner is affected by the order under appeal. The applicant was not a party in the writ petition.

Re: CAN 2 of 2022 (stay)

3. The stay petition is taken up in presence of the parties. Mr. Biswaroop Bhattacharyya, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant submits that without giving any opportunity to the appellant to prove his innocence, the learned Single Judge has arrived at a finding that the present appellant is one of the kingpins in giving illegal public appointments and based on such finding Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was directed to interrogate the appellant. It is submitted that he was not even made a party to the writ proceeding, when the order was passed, and only today in the morning, the learned Single Judge added the present appellant along with four other persons in the writ proceedings. It is further submitted that the CBI was also made a party respondent in the writ proceeding only today.

4. The learned Advocate General appears and submits that in view of the orders passed by the Hon'ble Division Bench on December 6, 2021 and on November 24, 2021, it was not open to the learned Single Judge to direct C.B.I. enquiry and/or investigation since a committee headed by a Retired Judge of this court is enquiring into the propriety and legality of the appointments, amongst others, of group-D staff and when the said committee is in seisin over the matter, the comity and hierarchy of court and judicial discipline requires that the regular bench should wait till a decision in this regard is taken by the Hon'ble Division Bench. It is submitted until the order of the Hon'ble Division Bench is set aside or varied the question of appointment of CBI to investigate into such alleged illegal appointment does not arise. It is further submitted that on April 5, 2022, the applicant is suppose to appear before the fact finding committee. In support of his submission that the subject matter of the writ petition also involves group-D employees, whose alleged illegal appointments are at issue therein, the learned Advocate General refers to the following observations of the Regular Bench made on December 6, 2021 in MAT 1254 of 2021 :-

"By the order impugned dated November 22, 2021, the learned Single Bench directed the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to constitute a committee headed by an Officer not below the rank of Joint Director, Officers not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General to initiate an enquiry because of the conflicting stands taken by the Board as well as the School Service Commission and therefore, an enquiry is required to be conducted which should not be construed as an investigation to identify the miscreants who caused the letters of recommendation in order to secure appointments of the undeserving candidates.

The issue relates to appointment of approximately 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff from 2018 on the basis of the recommendation made by the Central School Service Commission to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the appointment letters were issued by the Board on the basis of such recommendations.

The writ-petitions were filed challenging the modalities adopted by the School Service Commission beyond the conceivable adherence of the Rules and the Norms applicable there for and the recommendations having made after the expiry of the panel by efflux of time. Even the allegation proceeds that persons who were not included in the panel of have been shown fairly low in the serial maintained therein, have been favoured leaving deserving candidates. It is discer