The Calcutta High Court has taken up significant petitions challenging the constitutional validity of a controversial provision in the West Bengal Central Service Commission Rules, 2025 that allocates 10 marks for prior teaching experience in assistant teacher recruitment.
Legal Challenge Against Recruitment Rules
Justice Amrita Sinha presided over the hearing on Friday, where petitioners argued that the newly introduced marks system creates an unfair advantage for some candidates. The court has scheduled further hearings for Monday, when Justice Sinha will first hear the petitioners and then the respondents.
The contentious provision, which was absent in both the 2016 and 2019 recruitment rules, was incorporated just one day before the publication of the recruitment advertisement on May 29, 2025. This last-minute addition has raised eyebrows among legal experts and candidates alike.
Petitioners' Arguments for Fair Play
Senior counsel Bikash Bhattacharya, representing the petitioners, presented a compelling case before Justice Sinha. He emphasized that the provision denies a "level playing field" to all candidates participating in the second State Level Selection Test (SLST) recruitment process for 2025.
The petitioners have specifically requested that the scoring of candidates based on teaching experience be included at the final stage of recruitment list preparation, rather than being considered before the interview stage. This adjustment, they argue, would maintain fairness in the selection process.
Supreme Court Precedent Cited
Bhattacharya drew the court's attention to a recent Supreme Court order that annulled the entire first SLST recruitment process, declaring it "vitiated and tainted." The Supreme Court had subsequently ordered the conduction of a second SLST examination and completion of teacher recruitment by December 31, 2025.
This legal precedent adds significant weight to the current challenge, as it demonstrates the judiciary's commitment to ensuring transparent and fair recruitment processes in West Bengal's education sector.
The outcome of Monday's hearing could potentially affect thousands of aspiring teachers across West Bengal who are participating in the recruitment process. The court's decision on whether to maintain, modify, or strike down the teaching experience marks provision is eagerly awaited by all stakeholders in the education sector.
