A view of the Calcutta High Court in Kolkata. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) on Thursday (November 27, 2025) re-released the list of 1,806 ‘tainted’ teaching aspirants who were recruited after a State-level selection test in 2016, this time with additional details, following an order by the Calcutta High Court.
In April this year, nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching appointments made by the SSC in 2016 were annulled by the Supreme Court on grounds of a “vitiated and tainted” hiring process. The top court also directed the West Bengal government to conduct fresh recruitments for teaching positions by December 31.
In August, the SSC had released a list of 1,804 tainted candidates with only their names and roll numbers. The list published on Thursday carries the names of the candidates, their roll numbers, parents’ names, subjects they were selected to teach, and their date of birth.
On Thursday (November 27, 2025), the Calcutta High Court directed the SSC to publish in the public domain the list of ‘tainted’ candidates who were appointed after the expiry of the 2016 selection list, as well the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets of the candidates who took the 2025 recruitment test for Classes 9 to 12.
Justice Amrita Sinha noted that it was to “rule out any illegality” in the ongoing recruitment process and ensure that it is “fair and transparent from day one”.
This follows a Supreme Court order of November 26 directing that matters related to the recruitment of teachers in West Bengal be heard by the Calcutta High Court. In its order, the top court said the High Court will ensure that no tainted candidate is permitted to slip through in fresh selections, and that the list of tainted candidates is placed in the public domain with full details.
“The SSC has conducted examinations transparently. Our job is to ensure that SSC can complete the fresh recruitment by December 31, hurdle-free… The SSC is following the court’s orders to the word. We are hopeful of and committed to completing this year’s recruitments with utmost transparency,” Education Minister Bratya Basu said on Thursday.
He claimed that as opposed to the rest of the country, the recruitment examination conducted by the SSC this year was followed by the public release of the question paper, model answer keys, and list of candidates selected for the next step of the recruitment process.
On the other hand, Leader of Opposition of the West Bengal Assembly and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suvendu Adhikari accused Chief Minister Minister Mamata Banerjee of being involved in the fraudulent teacher recruitment process of 2016 and demanded strict legal action against her.
Published – November 27, 2025 09:36 pm IST
