A view of the Supreme Court of India
| Photo Credit: Deepika Rajesh

In a blow to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of review petitions against its April 3, 2025, judgment that struck down the appointment of nearly 24,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools across the State.

The recruitments, conducted in 2016 by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), had been linked to the cash-for-jobs “scam”. The selection was held for assistant teachers of classes nine to twelve and for Groups C and D staff.

A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma, in its August 5 order made public on Tuesday, said the review pleas essentially sought a “re-hearing of the entire matter on merits” and could not be entertained as “all relevant aspects have already been examined and considered comprehensively.”

“The judgment dated April 3, 2025, was passed after hearing extensive and exhaustive arguments and upon considering all aspects, factual and legal,” the court observed.

The Bench noted that the WBSSC’s failure to preserve original OMR sheets or their mirror copies was a “significant factor” that rendered verification of candidates’ merit “more difficult, if not impossible.” The court was convinced that attempts to conceal irregularities had fatally compromised the entire 2016 recruitment exercise, leaving annulment as the only means to “maintain the sanctity of the process.”

While acknowledging that the cancellation of even untainted appointments would cause “heartburn and anguish,” the court said that the preservation of the integrity of the process had to prevail. “The adverse remarks made against the authorities concerned, who were wholly and solely responsible for this entire imbroglio… were fully warranted and justified,” the judgment underscored, dismissing the review petitions filed by the State government, the WBSSC and others.

The review petitions stemmed from the Supreme Court’s April 3, 2025, ruling by a Bench led by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, which had declared the entire 2016 recruitment process to be vitiated by manipulation and fraud. The court had found that the irregularities violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, guaranteeing equality and equal opportunity in public employment.

The judgment had barred any further appointments on the basis of the tainted process. However, it permitted limited concessions for candidates not found to be part of the “tainted category”. Some of these candidates, who had earlier served in other State government departments before appearing for the 2016 recruitment, were allowed to seek reinstatement in their earlier posts.

Earlier, in April 2024, the Calcutta High Court had annulled the appointments after a CBI probe revealed blank OMR sheets, tampered answer scripts, and the selection of candidates who were absent from both the merit list and the waitlist. Although the WBSSC had recommended 22,930 candidates, it issued 25,735 appointment letters.

The State government had challenged the High Court’s judgment, arguing that the blanket cancellation of all appointments, without evaluating each case individually, was erroneous. It had apprised the court that the abrupt termination of nearly 24,000 teachers and non-teaching staff had brought the entire education system to a virtual standstill.

Acknowledging these concerns, the Supreme Court in April had permitted teachers exonerated by the CBI to remain in service until December 31, 2025.

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Published – August 20, 2025 12:07 pm IST