The Supreme Court refused to interfere with its earlier judgment cancelling over 23,000 West Bengal SSC appointments, asking affected candidates to approach the Calcutta High Court. The Court reiterated that only untainted candidates may seek limited relief while ensuring “tainted candidates” do not re-enter the system.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea filed by the husband of a teaching candidate whose job was cancelled after the Court’s April 3 decision that upheld the Calcutta High Court’s April 22, 2024 judgment.
That judgment had quashed the appointment of 23,123 teaching and non-teaching staff selected through the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal.
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The case was heard by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The petitioner, Shawon Aditya, argued his case in person.
The Bench said that it understood that some “untainted” candidates may have been wrongly affected when the entire selection list was cancelled. However, the Court told the petitioner that he was free to approach the Calcutta High Court with his specific grievance.
Recently, the Supreme Court had also disposed of several Special Leave Petitions related to the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment case.
The Court directed all petitioners to move the Calcutta High Court, where similar matters are already being heard in a pending writ petition.
Importantly, the Court made it clear that the High Court must ensure that no “tainted candidates” are allowed to slip through in the fresh recruitment process “on any pretext.”
The Court further ordered that the full list of such tainted candidates should be published in the public domain with all necessary details so that there is no scope for irregularities.
The Bench of Justices P.V. Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe also clarified that candidates who were earlier found to be untainted and were allowed to sit in the fresh recruitment exams will not suffer because of the newly notified West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection for Appointment) Rules, 2025.
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Earlier, on August 5, 2025, the Supreme Court had dismissed review petitions against its major judgment dated April 3, 2025.
That earlier judgment had quashed the entire SSC recruitment process after finding that it was completely compromised by fraud, manipulation, and attempts to hide the truth. The Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma had pointed out that the review applications were only trying to reopen issues that had already been heard in detail.
The Court noted that the April judgment came after “extensive and exhaustive” hearings, which included reports from the Justice (Retd.) R.K. Bag Committee, findings from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and even the admissions made by the SSC and the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education in their affidavits.
A key factor in both the High Court and Supreme Court’s decision was that the Commission failed to preserve the original physical OMR sheets or even mirror copies. Because of this, it became impossible to verify the recruitment.
The Supreme Court said that this, combined with attempts by authorities to hide mistakes, meant that there was no way to restore confidence in the process.
The Court said,
“The inevitable conclusion was that the entire selection process stood compromised owing to such illegalities.”
The Court acknowledged that cancelling the appointments would cause “heartburn and anguish” to many untainted candidates. However, it stressed that the integrity of public recruitment must always come first.
The Bench said that
“The purity of the selection process is of the highest priority and must remain pristine and free of infirmities.”
It also upheld strict remarks made against the authorities involved, observing that they were “wholly and solely responsible” for the scandal, which has deeply affected thousands of candidates—both tainted and untainted.
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In its April 3 judgment, while addressing the concern of innocent candidates, the Supreme Court had said,
“Some candidates who do not fall within the ‘tainted’ category and may have previously worked in departments of the State Government or autonomous bodies will have the right to apply to their previous departments. Although their appointments stand cancelled, such applications must be processed within three months, and the candidates will be allowed to resume their positions.”
The Court had also ordered that a completely fresh recruitment process must be conducted within three months.
Case Title:
SHAWON ADITYA vs UNION OF INDIA.
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