Ranchi: Hearing a contempt petition in a matter related to high school teachers' appointment in the state, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the state government to prepare a merit list of all the petitioners, considering the final cut-off of the candidates appointed so far.
During the hearing, Jharkhand's Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh appeared before the top court following SC's summon. Well-known advocate Kapil Sibal represented the state government, while advocate Lalit Kumar represented the petitioner Soni Kumari and others. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 9.
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Advocate Lalit Kumar said, "Merit list will be prepared by Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) as per instruction of SC after calculating the merit of all 450 candidates who are applicants in the case, only then after the recruitment process will start."
In its previous hearing, the apex court issued a notice to the government and ordered for the status quo to be restored in the appointment of high school teachers.
The recruitment process of teachers in the state has been underway since 2016. The merit list prepared on the basis of the examination conducted following the JSSC Advertisement No. 21/2016 was challenged by Soni Kumari and others.