Calcutta HC dismisses plea for fast track hearing on forest guards' recruitment

Kolkata, May 25 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.