Supreme Court Upholds Mass School Recruitment Cancellation: Systemic Fraud Annuls Entire Selection

This batch of civil appeals challenged the judgment of the High Court at Calcutta, which had en bloc set aside the 2016 selection process conducted by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBSSC) for the recruitment of non-teaching staff (Groups C and D) and Assistant Teachers for Classes IX-XII. The High Court's decision was based on widespread illegalities and irregularities unearthed during an investigation, including by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in response to writ petitions filed by unsuccessful candidates. The appellants before the Supreme Court included selectees (categorized as those with evidence of wrongdoing and those claiming valid selection), the State of West Bengal, and the WBSSC, all contesting the annulment of the entire selection process.

Given the established systemic irregularities and large-scale manipulations, the Supreme Court justified the High Court in annulling the entire 2016 selection process conducted by the WBSSC for various teaching and non-teaching posts. The Court extensively reviewed precedents concerning the cancellation of selection processes due to irregularities, emphasizing the need for an in-depth factual inquiry to determine if the irregularities were systemic enough to undermine the sanctity of the process.

**The Supreme Court observed numerous established illegalities, including the irregular appointment of an agency for OMR sheet evaluation, subcontracting of scanning without authorization, destruction of original OMR sheets without proper preservation of scanned copies, manipulation of OMR scores, rank jumping, out-of-panel appointments, and appointments exceeding the declared vacancies. **

Supreme Court took note of the findings of the Justice (Retd.) Bag Committee and the reports submitted by the CBI, which revealed significant discrepancies and evidence of manipulation. The Supreme Court highlighted the WBSSC's initial attempts to conceal the illegalities and the contradictions in their submissions.

The Supreme Court upheld the impugned judgment of the High Court, affirming the cancellation of the entire 2016 selection process due to the extensive and systemic fraud that vitiated the entire process. The Court found that the large-scale manipulations and attempted cover-up had irreparably damaged the credibility and legitimacy of the selection.

While affirming the cancellation en bloc, the Supreme Court made certain modifications to the High Court's directions. Specifically, it directed the termination of services of tainted candidates who must also refund any received salaries. For untainted appointed candidates, their appointments are also cancelled, but they are not required to refund salaries.

The Apex Court provided a specific dispensation for previously employed untainted candidates to apply for reinstatement in their former roles and allowed untainted and disabled candidates to participate in a fresh selection process with age relaxation. The Apex Court clarified that its observations would not influence the ongoing criminal proceedings.

CORAM: CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA SANJIV KAHANNA & JUSTICE (SANJAY KUMAR
BETWEEN: STATE OF WEST BENGAL VS BAISHAKHI BHATTACHARYYA (CHATTERJEE) & ORS 2025 INSC 437
DOJ: 03-04-2025