School Job Scam: SC allows ‘unpolluted’ teachers to stay now, demanding West Bengal to complete new recruitment by December 31
The court directed the West Bengal government, the State Education Commission and the West Bengal School Services Commission (WBSSC) to file an affidavit by May 31. The affidavit must include an advertisement for brand new teacher recruitment and ensure that the selection process will be completed by December 31, 2025.
The Supreme Court said it is currently allowed to continue as a teacher to earn any gains in the upcoming recruitment exams.
The order was issued shortly after the court upheld the decision of the Kolkata High Court to cancel the 2016 recruitment of more than 25,700 teachers and non-teachers. The Supreme Court rejected appeals from the state government led by Mamata Banerjee, the WBSSC and 125 recruiting candidates.
Also Read: How India’s Scam in Large School Jobs Makes 25,000 Dilemmas
“The entire selection process was deprived and contaminated with the solution,” said the bench, which consisted of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar.
The court also said that candidates should be contaminated, whether appointed as a teacher or a non-teacher, “refunds of any salary/payments received should be requested. Since their appointments are the result of fraud, this constitutes cheating.” It added that those who did not find any misconduct would lose their jobs but would not be asked to refund the salary or reimbursement they received.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the court’s ruling, saying a more just approach is to transfer affected employees. She refers to a separate dispute involving alleged corruption in the judiciary, saying: “I have a problem here. If the only consequence after retrieving the rupees from the judge’s home is the transfer, then they can also transfer these 25,000 siblings.”
“We have no complaints against any judges. But as a citizen, I have the right to say–I cannot accept the judgment with respect to the judiciary,” Banerjee said. “We cannot criticize judges, but we can express our views on humanitarian reasons.”
The scandal, widely known as the West Bengal SSC scam or “school work-cash” case, stemmed from the general irregularities in recruiting teachers and non-teaching staff at WBSSC in 2016, initially a regular recruitment process, which turned into the highest corruption case, which in the Spanish corruption case, created a higher political strategy and created a mean situation.
The 2016 recruitment exam was held by WBSSC and is in 24,640 approved positions in state-operated and national auxiliary schools. About 230,000 candidates took the test, hoping to obtain government jobs. However, 25,753 letters of appointment were sent – a figure that exceeded the official number and the first major alert was raised.
The investigation later revealed serious manipulation of the process. It has been reported that the OMR answer sheet was tampered with, the fabricated list of advantages, and the case of candidates who submitted blank scripts. Several appointees allegedly bribed to secure their posts, bypassing value altogether.
After a series of legal petitions, the Kolkata High Court canceled all 25,753 appointments, saying the procedure was fraudulent and manipulated. On April 11, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s ruling and pointed out that the fraud could not be compensated. The judge led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna described the recruitment as a “systemic failure” and refused to overturn an earlier verdict.
(with TOI input)
