In a major setback for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Supreme Court has upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision to nullify nearly 25,000 appointments made by the West Bengal School Selection Commission (WBSSC) in 2016. The apex court ruled that the recruitment process was marred by large-scale fraud and was “tainted beyond repair.”
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that widespread manipulation had rendered the entire selection process illegitimate.
“This is a case where the entire selection process is vitiated beyond resolution. Large-scale fraud and attempts to cover it up have completely undermined the credibility and legitimacy of the process,” CJI Khanna was quoted as saying by LiveLaw.
Candidates to Refund Salaries, CBI Investigation Continues
The Supreme Court further ruled that candidates who benefited from the tainted appointments must refund any salaries or payments they received. It acknowledged the High Court’s rationale for cancelling all appointments, citing intentional cover-ups and significant fraudulent activities.
“For candidates found to be directly involved in the malpractice, their selection has rightly been declared null and void due to gross violations of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution,” the court stated.
However, the court clarified that while the appointments of those currently employed would be cancelled, they would not be required to return previously received salaries.
Fraudulent Mark Manipulation and Missing OMR Sheets
The integrity of the WBSSC’s data handling has also been called into question. Investigations revealed that key records were tampered with, and original OMR sheets were destroyed after a year, raising concerns about the authenticity of scanned copies. A CBI inquiry uncovered discrepancies in the results, indicating manipulation of scores.
“The written marks recorded on the commission’s server were artificially increased to qualify undeserving candidates. These discrepancies confirm that marks were manipulated in the case of several candidates,” the CBI report revealed.
Despite the ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the CBI to continue its investigation but prohibited coercive action against those involved.
State Government Raises Concerns Over Staffing Crisis
Senior advocates representing the WBSSC argued that scrapping the entire recruitment process could lead to a severe staffing shortage in state-run schools. They contended that discrepancies between recommendations and final appointments occurred because some candidates declined job offers, prompting the commission to issue alternative recommendations.
The West Bengal government also expressed concerns that many affected candidates may now be overage for fresh recruitment. Additionally, they criticized the High Court’s heavy reliance on oral arguments rather than substantial affidavit-based evidence. They suggested that instead of mass cancellations, fraudulent appointments should have been segregated from legitimate ones.
Nonetheless, the Supreme Court’s decision stands, marking a significant legal and political blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led administration.
