Youth unemployment at an all time high but institutions still deny jobs on technicalities: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday voiced concerns over the rising unemployment in the country due to the lack of efficient mechanisms for generating employment [Arnab Roy vs State of West Bengal]..Single-judge Justice Shekhar B Saraf observed that due to failure of the system to generate employment, youngsters have stopped looking for jobs and youth unemployment has reached an all time high."The current Indian predicament faces a worrying stagnation of employment structure. The lack of efficient mechanisms for generating employment has left a large percentage of our population unemployed. Many frustrated with the system have actively stopped searching for jobs and youth unemployment is at an all time high," the Court observed.The single-judge further said that rather than encouraging citizens to actively seek out jobs and contribute to the nation, institutions have frustrated the youth by creating hurdles borne out of petty technicalities to deny them jobs and have misused the discretionary power given to them.The Court made the observations while hearing two petitions, one pertaining to the vacancy of a clerk (1 post) and other concerning two laboratory attendant posts since 2009. The Court noted that instead of filling up the three posts, the authorities have been litigating the matter."Rather than employing combined efforts to ensure the position is filled up, what has ensured is years of legal disputes. To ensure the prosperity of our nations institutions, one must be mindful when applying the relevant recruitment rules so that they do not become tools of public mischief," the single-judge opined..The Court was hearing petitions challenging a memo communicated by the Additional District Inspector (ADI) of Schools of Purba Medinapur to two schools in July and October 2020.By these memos, the ADI dissolved the panels of both the schools, which comprised of candidates for filling up vacancies. The petitioners contended that the schools had postponed the interviews for the recruitment process and had intimated the District Inspector (DI) of School. However, the DI neither approved the postponement nor did it reject the said proposal to postpone the interviews.Accordingly, the ADI issued memos dissolving the panels of the schools. The petitioners moved the Court seeking appointment on the ground that they were the first to be empanelled in the said panels. .In its judgment, the Court held the memo to be 'bad in law' and quashed the same. However, it refused to grant any relief (of appointment) to the petitioners and ordered the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to proceed with fresh recruitment process as mandated under the West Bengal School Service Commission (selection of persons for Appointment to the post of Non-teaching staff) Rules, 2009..Advocates Soumen Kr Dutta and Subhas Jana appeared for the Petitioners.Advocates Pinaki Dhole and Sayan Datta represented the State..[Read Judgment]

Youth unemployment at an all time high but institutions still deny jobs on technicalities: Calcutta High Court

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