HC dismisses plea for fast track hearing on forest guards’ recruitment

KOLKATA: A vacation bench of Calcutta High Court on Thursday rejected a plea for a fast-track hearing on a petition challenging a previous order by a single- judge bench cancelling the entire panel in recruitment in forest guards by the West Bengal Forest Department.

Earlier, a bench of Justice Lapita Bandopadhyay cancelled the entire panel for recruitment of 2,000 forest guards. Some of the candidates on the list approached a division bench arguing that only those getting appointments illegally should be removed from the list and also made an appeal for a fast-track hearing in the matter.

However, the vacation bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee rejected the appeal for fast-track hearing in the matter. Justice Gangopadhyay directed the petitioners to appeal at a different division bench on this count.

The recruitment in forest guards by the state Forest Department was done in 2020. However, a petition was filed at the high court alleging irregularities in the recruitment process.

The bench of Justice Bandopadhyay also accepted the charges of irregularities in the recruitment process, and directed the Forest Department to start a fresh interview process after cancelling the panel.A Some candidates approached the division bench arguing that why the eligible ones who got recruitments through fair means should have to again appear for the fresh interview process.