SC invalidated appointments of 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff
The Statesman | 31 August 2025
The Supreme Court on 3 April had upheld the Calcutta High Court order invalidating the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching employees of West Bengal government-aided schools across the state calling the entire selection process “tainted beyond resolution”.
The appointments were made through recruitments examination held by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.
The Bench of former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar called for a fresh selection process to fill the vacancies. It also fixed 4 April to independently hear an appeal by West Bengal challenging a high court order for a CBI probe into the decision to create supernumerary posts.
The Bench had said: “In our opinion, 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 denied.”
On April 22, 2024, the Calcutta High Court had cancelled the recruitment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff by the WBSSC after finding out that OMR sheets were manipulated. The state government then moved the top court against the cancellation of the entire selection process, saying that the HC could have left out the valid appointments.