Kolkata, June 9: A single-judge vacation bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Monday, refused to conduct an urgent hearing of the petition challenging the May 30 notification of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSCS) to fill vacant posts of teachers in state-run schools.

The vacancies were created following the cancellation of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs by the Supreme Court in April this year.

The petition was filed claiming that in the fresh notification, WBSSC has brought some major changes in the recruitment norms existing in 2016. The entire panel of 2016 was cancelled first by the Calcutta High Court last year, and then by the Supreme Court in April this year.

However, the single-judge vacation bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya observed that there is no necessity for an urgent hearing in the matter, and for the time being, the recruitment process should continue as it is.

However, he observed that the court will look into the matter if any complications arise in the due course. The matter will come up for hearing again in July after the summer vacation.

The main ground on which the notification was challenged was that the weightage criteria in the distribution of total marks were changed from what was followed in 2016.

As per the new notification issued last week, the written examination in the fresh recruitment process will carry 60 marks, as against 55 for the 2016 panel.

Secondly, the weightage criterion for educational qualification in the fresh recruitment process is just 10 as against 35 for the 2016 panel.

Most importantly, two new weightage criteria, each carrying 10 marks, ‘past teaching experience’ and ‘lecture demonstration’, have been introduced in the new recruitment process.

In the petition, it was contended that while the two new weightage criteria were introduced to give an advantage to the teachers from the 2016 panel, who lost their jobs, at the same time, the changed criteria will be disadvantageous for the fresher candidates.

On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s division bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted” candidates from the “tainted” ones.

The state government and WBSSC had already filed review petitions in the apex court on this issue.

Ahmedabad, June 9: A high-level delegation from Gujarat, led by State Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi, on Monday, held a series of key meetings in London aimed at forging new partnerships in sports, health and infrastructure.

The delegation met with Catherine West, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to discuss collaboration opportunities.

The Gujarat delegation extended an invitation to Catherine West to visit the state to further strengthen the UK–Gujarat ties.

During a detailed session with officials from Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, the team explored four specific collaboration areas: academic sports curriculum development with faculty and student exchange, training of sports coaches, sports event management, and podium strategies for selected disciplines.

The possibility of Loughborough University establishing a city campus in Ahmedabad was also discussed.

To gain insights into the infrastructure side, the delegation visited iconic venues such as the O2 Arena and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The focus was on studying multi-use sports facility models and the growing “concert economy”, exploring how live music events can drive local economic growth.

Sustainability in stadium design and operations was another key area of interest.

Meanwhile, speculations about Ahmedabad potentially hosting the Olympics in the future have been gaining traction in recent years, especially after the city was chosen to host the 2036 National Games and with India officially bidding for the 2036 Summer Olympics.

The Narendra Modi Stadium — the world’s largest cricket stadium — and the development of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave have positioned Ahmedabad as a serious contender for the mega sporting event.

Government officials and sports authorities have hinted at the city being the centerpiece of India’s Olympic aspirations, citing its infrastructure readiness, international connectivity, and the Central government’s backing.

If selected, Ahmedabad could become the first Indian city to host the Olympics, marking a major milestone in the country’s sporting and urban development history.

However, the final decision rests with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the competition remains stiff with several other countries in the fray.

New Delhi, June 9: The Supreme Court, in an interim order passed on Monday, stayed the operation of a Madras High Court decision, which had restrained the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from collecting toll on the Madurai-Tuticorin national highway.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan agreed to examine the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the NHAI and issued notice to V. Balakrishnan, a retired Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation assistant executive engineer from Tuticorin district, on whose plea the Madras HC passed the impugned order on June 3.

The stay order was opposed by senior advocate P Wilson, who termed toll collection “daylight robbery” since the Madurai-Tuticorin highway remained in an unsatisfactory condition.

The apex court told the respondents to complete pleadings, saying that it would examine the matter in detail at a later stage.

In its order, the Madras HC said that the collection of toll fees on the Madurai-Tuticorin national highway was “impermissible” and the road users are entitled to a “good condition” highway, and then alone they are liable to pay toll fees as prescribed by the NHAI.

It ordered the NHAI authorities not to collect toll fees from the road users, who are travelling from Madurai to Tuticorin or from Tuticorin to Madurai, till such time, the road is relaid or maintained as per the standards prescribed under the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988.

However, the bench of Justices S.M.Subramaniam and A.D.Maria Clete clarified that after the highway road is maintained in a good condition as per the standards prescribed under the law, the NHAI would be at liberty to collect toll fees from the road users. The Madras High Court took note of the fact that the contract for maintaining the Madurai-Tuticorin national highways came to be terminated on March 17 last year on the finding that the contractor failed to maintain the road as per the NHAI standards.