Kolkata, Feb 8,2023: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths probing the multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal faced the wrath of Justice Biswajt Basu of Calcutta High Court for not filing FIRs against those non-teaching staff who secured jobs in the state-run schools illegally by paying money.

While hearing a case related to the irregularities in recruitment of Group-D staff on Wednesday, Justice Basu observed that going by the logic those paying bribes for special consideration are equally guilty like those accepting the same, the CBI should have filed FIRs against those whose illegal recruitments were arranged through tampering of the optical marks recognition (OMR) sheets.

“Had the CBI initiated criminal proceedings against them, it would have been the staff’s responsibility to prove their innocence. If they failed in that, they would have lost the money paid and also face imprisonment,” Justice Basu observed.

Observing that as many as 1,698 OMR sheets were tampered with in the Group-D examination, Justice Basu questioned the CBI counsel on the nature of cases filed against such candidates by the central agencies.

“Who is the main brain behind this? One group facilitated the wrong-doings while another group took advantage of that. Are not both sides equally guilty? Why is the central agency not starting criminal proceedings against each of them?” Justice Basu questioned.

The next date of hearing in the matter is scheduled on February 15. This is not the first time that CBI is facing the wrath of Justice Basu. On February 6, Justice Basu reminded that the court cannot guide CBI in every step of investigation in the multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal.

Earlier on February 2, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay while seeking the details of the assets of all the members of the special investigation team (SIT) of CBI probing the scam, observed that “following the lackadaisical approach of the central agency in the matter it seems that he will personally have to handle the investigation and send a report to the Prime Minister”.