The Calcutta High Court has issued a significant directive to the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), ordering it to file and publish a fresh, detailed report on 1,806 candidates whose appointments were previously invalidated. This order comes amidst a fresh recruitment drive for government and aided schools in the state.
Incomplete Data Raises Judicial Concern
Justice Amrita Sinha, presiding over the case, took on record a report previously submitted by the SSC. The court found this report to be critically lacking in essential details. While it contained basic information like roll numbers, names, subjects, parents' names, and dates of birth of the candidates, it failed to disclose the category under which each candidate was found to be "tainted."
Furthermore, the court noted that the list omitted crucial appointment details, specifically the name of the school and the district where the candidate was appointed following the first School-Level Selection Test (SLST) conducted back in 2016. This lack of comprehensive data, the court observed, creates a significant loophole.
Risk of Tainted Candidates Slipping Through
Justice Sinha emphasized that the very purpose of publishing the list is to ensure proper identification of the individuals involved. In an order passed on Wednesday, the judge stated, "If proper and complete details of the candidates are not disclosed in the list published by the commission, then there are chances that tainted candidates may slip through the net and participate in the fresh recruitment process."
This concern is not hypothetical. The SSC is currently conducting a fresh recruitment process through the second SLST of 2025 to fill teaching and non-teaching positions. The backdrop to this new process is the Supreme Court's order in April last year, which upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict invalidating the appointments of 25,753 candidates due to widespread irregularities in the earlier recruitment drive.
Fresh List and Next Hearing Date
The lawyer representing the SSC assured the court that steps are being taken to publish a further, more detailed list. Accepting this submission, Justice Sinha directed the commission to publish a revised list disclosing all relevant details that would allow for the proper identification of the 1,806 tainted candidates.
The court has scheduled the next hearing in this matter for February 11. The directive reinforces the judiciary's ongoing scrutiny of the school job recruitment scandal in West Bengal, aiming to ensure transparency and fairness in the new selection process.
