Today, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) to place on record and publish a fresh list of candidates whose appointments were invalidated for irregularities, holding that incomplete disclosure defeats the very purpose of identification. While examining compliance with earlier directions, Justice Amrita Sinha cautioned that “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.”
The case arose in the backdrop of large-scale irregularities detected in the first School-Level Selection Test (SLST), 2016, pursuant to which appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching candidates in government-run and aided schools in West Bengal were invalidated. The Apex Court, in April last year, upheld the Calcutta High Court’s order setting aside these appointments after finding the recruitment process vitiated.
Subsequently, the SSC identified 1,806 candidates as tainted and placed a list before the High Court. The Commission is presently conducting a fresh recruitment exercise through the second SLST, 2025, making the identification of such candidates critical to prevent their re-entry into the system.
On behalf of the SSC, it was submitted that a list of tainted candidates had already been prepared and filed before the Court. The Commission informed the Bench that steps were being taken to publish a further list in compliance with the Court’s directions.
The matter was considered in light of the Court’s earlier order dated November 19, 2025, which had expressly directed publication of the list of tainted candidates to ensure their clear identification.
Justice Amrita Sinha examined the list submitted by the SSC and noted that while it contained particulars such as roll number, name, subject, parent’s name, and date of birth, it did not disclose the category under which the candidate was found tainted, nor did it mention the school and district of appointment under the 2016 SLST.
The Court emphasised that the objective behind directing publication of the list was not mere formality but effective identification. Recalling the earlier order, Justice Sinha observed that the disclosure requirement was intended “for the purpose of identifying the candidates.” She warned that incomplete particulars could undermine the recruitment safeguards, observing that “tainted candidates may slip through the net and participate in the fresh recruitment process” if full details were not made public.
In light of the deficiencies noted, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal SSC to publish a fresh list disclosing all relevant details necessary for proper identification of the 1,806 tainted candidates. The Court ordered that the matter be listed again for further hearing on February 11, to assess compliance with its directions and ensure the integrity of the ongoing recruitment process.
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