SHILLONG: The Meghalaya High Court has ordered a CBI inquiry into the criminal aspect of an alleged education scam case of 2008 2009 pending against politicians, including the then Education Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh A bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Ved Prakash Vaish also directed the probe agency to investigate all the centres where the recruitment of teachers was carried out while cancelling the selection process in five of the centres.The matter relates to alleged irregularities in the process of selection for the post of assistant teacher in government lower primary schools in Meghalaya in 2008 2009.The court, however, said that all untainted candidates of the five centres Shillong Sadar, Jowai, Amlarem, Tura and Dadenggre whether in service or not, shall be allowed to participate in the fresh selection process.In a 105-page order, the court also took exception to the interference of politicians in the scam stating that it vitiated the normal selection process while ordering that disciplinary action against former education official J D Sangma will continue."The large number of public representatives practically assumed that the matter of public employment by open competition could also be dealt with by way of their desires and recommendations."We refrain from commenting anything further in that regard but would leave the matter to be thoroughly investigated by the investigating agency," the bench said.It also said that none of the "untainted/unblemished candidates will be treated as age-barred if he/she was within the age prescribed by the notification dated November 24, 2008."The court took into account the earlier CBI inquiry and the report of the High Level Scrutiny Committee (HLSC) and directed that the candidates who have been treated as "untainted/unblemished" both in the reports of CBI and HLSC and are in service, may be allowed to continue as stop-gap arrangement until fresh selection takes place.The HLSC report had said that out of the 365 candidates selected, as many as 268, or 70 per cent, were tainted.The court said that the candidates who have been found tainted/blemished whether in the report of CBI or that of HLSC or both, will not be taken or retained in service. The service of every such candidate, who is yet continuing, whether by way of regular appointment or in ad hoc arrangement, will stand terminated with immediate effect.

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