On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision to cancel the appointments of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff recruited by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016. This ruling pertains to the widely reported West Bengal SSC recruitment scam, often referred to as the “cash-for-jobs” scandal, which involved allegations of widespread fraud and manipulation in the hiring process for state-run and state-aided schools.
The Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, found that the selection process was “tainted beyond repair” due to large-scale manipulations and attempts to cover them up. The court affirmed that the appointments, resulting from fraudulent practices, constituted “cheating” and could not be allowed to stand, even for candidates who might not have been directly involved in the irregularities. However, the court provided some relief by ruling that those whose appointments were canceled would not have to refund their salaries received thus far.
The scam originated from the State Level Selection Test (SLST) conducted in 2016, where over 23 lakh candidates competed for 24,640 vacant posts, yet 25,753 appointment letters were issued, indicating irregularities such as appointments beyond available vacancies and manipulation of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets. The Calcutta High Court had initially declared the entire recruitment process “null and void” in April 2024, a decision the Supreme Court has now upheld. The apex court also ordered the West Bengal government to initiate a fresh selection process within three months and granted an exception for disabled employees, allowing them to retain their jobs on humanitarian grounds.
The ongoing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the scam continues, with a separate hearing scheduled for April 4, 2025, to address the West Bengal government’s plea against the CBI probe. This ruling has significant implications, affecting thousands of appointees and sparking political reactions, with opposition parties criticizing the ruling Trinamool Congress government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
