Saying it adversely impacted the lives and livelihoods of untainted candidates, several petitioners moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday against a verdict nullifying the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar heard about 124 petitions challenging the verdict of the Calcutta High Court. The CJI acknowledged the arguments and reiterated the need for a balance between addressing illegalities and protecting untainted appointees and said the segregation of cases, wherever possible, may be prioritised to protect innocent candidates. Referring to the high court's verdict, the bench said, "It only said that when there were so many irregularities, it became impossible to know who were genuinely appointed and who were the ones who manipulated the process." One common point argued was that the majority of untainted selected candidates, who were adversely impac