SC allows untainted candidates selected for Assistant Teachers for Classes 9 - 12 to continue till fresh recruitment completed: Everything so far in WBSSC recruitment scam case
We bring a complete run-down of the developments in West Bengal’s teacher recruitment scam litigation in the Supreme Court
Sadeeq Sherwani
Published on: 21 April 2025, 01:39 pm
ON APRIL 17, the Supreme Court allowed the untainted candidates who were selected for the post of Assistant Teachers for Classes IX to XII in the West Bengal School Service Commission, to continue in service until the fresh recruitment process is completed. However, the Court declined to grant the same relief to Group C and D candidates.
The order was passed in a miscellaneous application filed by the West Bengal government in State of West Bengal v. Baishakhi Bhattacharyya, where the entire selection process of the West Bengal School Service Commission (‘WBSSC’) was found to have suffered through irregularities and corruption. West Bengal had prayed for the untainted candidates to be allowed to continue in service till the end of the academic year or till the fresh recruitment process to such posts was concluded, whichever is earlier.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar has given a deadline till May 31, 2025, to the State to publish the advertisements for the fresh recruitment process and has directed them to complete the recruitment process by December 31, 2025, including the conducting of exams.
The bench has also directed the West Bengal government and the SSC to file an affidavit before the deadline date, producing the advertisement and warned that in case any infirmity is found therein, the present order will be vacated.
The order was passed in a miscellaneous application filed by the West Bengal government in State of West Bengal v. Baishakhi Bhattacharyya, where the entire selection process of the West Bengal School Service Commission (‘WBSSC’) was found to have suffered through irregularities and corruption.
Supreme Court had earlier upheld the striking down of WBSSC’s entire selection process
Earlier, on April 3 the same bench had upheld a single-judge Bench order of the Calcutta High Court striking down the entire 2016 selection process of the WBSSC. As a result, more than 23,000 people employed as teachers and non-teaching staff in the state have lost their employment. Many of these people had been discharging their duties for over five years.
The Supreme Court found the entire selection process so tainted that it was impossible to segregate the innocent from those guilty of fraud and manipulation. The Court, while declaring that the selection process violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution as it was riddled with egregious violations, illegalities and cover-ups, agreed with the decision of the High Court to declare the entire selection process null and void.
“This is a case wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded,” the bench noted.
Notably, in their investigation, the Central Bureau of Investigation had identified 6,279 illegally appointed candidates, including in Groups A (Assistant Teachers for Classes IX & X), B (Assistant Teachers for Classes XI & XII), C and D (Non-teaching Staff), excluding 239 candidates who fell under both the OMR mismatch and other illegalities.
