Kolkata, April 23 -- In a major blow to the Trinamool Congress in the midst of general elections the Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered the cancellation of appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made through the recruitment process of State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal Government-sponsored and aided schools, declaring the selection process as "null and void".

The court directed the "illegal recruits" to return their emoluments drawn in the past several years within four weeks.

As the order came barely a couple of days after Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari presaged a "massive explosion that will shake the foundations of the TMC," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee immediately called the court o...