New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday offered partial relief to school teachers in West Bengal whose appointments were recently nullified due to alleged recruitment malpractices. Emphasizing that the welfare of students must remain a priority, the Court ruled that only “untainted” teachers—those not linked to any corruption in the 2016 hiring process—may continue teaching temporarily in Classes 9 through 12 until a new selection process is completed.
This allowance does not extend to non-teaching personnel in Group C and D roles, as a higher proportion of irregularities were found among them, the Court noted.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, leading the bench, directed the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to initiate a new recruitment process without delay. The commission must publish the job advertisement by May 31 and wrap up the entire selection process by December 31, 2025.
“The application is accepted for assistant teachers of secondary and higher secondary classes, with strict adherence to the deadlines. If the recruitment notice is not published by May 31, this Court may consider imposing costs,” said the CJI.
The Court also instructed both the state government and the commission to file an affidavit by May 31, including the recruitment schedule and advertisement to ensure compliance.
This verdict comes after chaos in numerous state-run schools, where the April 7 Supreme Court ruling had led to thousands of job terminations, affecting regular teaching activities. The state government and SSC had appealed for reconsideration to mitigate the disruption caused to students.
In its April 7 judgment, the Court had invalidated the entire 2016 selection process, calling it irreparably flawed due to systemic manipulation, fraud, and deliberate cover-ups.
“The recruitment exercise is so severely compromised that it cannot be salvaged in part or whole,” the bench had stated.
While “untainted” candidates won’t need to return the salaries already paid, they will still lose their jobs under the previous process. In contrast, those identified as beneficiaries of corrupt practices are required to refund their entire earnings.
The Mamata Banerjee-led state government had previously challenged the Calcutta High Court’s sweeping order that annulled all appointments. They had requested a distinction between honest and dishonest candidates. However, the apex court rejected this plea, citing the scale of deceit and falsification throughout the recruitment process.
“The entire process was deliberately corrupted,” the court noted. “Segregation is not feasible due to widespread tampering at every level.”
