Supreme Court Upholds Calcutta HC's Decision on SSC Recruitment Scam

The Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court's cancellation of over 25,000 school recruitments by the West Bengal SSC, citing manipulation and fraud in the selection process. Affected candidates must refund salaries received, but untainted individuals can reapply for previous positions. Differently-abled candidates will continue employment pending new recruitment.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reaffirmed the Calcutta High Court's decision to annul the West Bengal School Service Commission's (SSC) recruitment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in 2016 due to widespread manipulation and fraud.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice Sanjay Kumar deemed the selection process irreparably compromised, citing extensive illegal activities and a cover-up that eroded its legality and fairness. The court endorsed the High Court's directive for terminating 'tainted' candidates and reclaiming any salaries or payments made to them.

While the decision mandates the termination of all candidates, including those categorized as 'untainted,' these individuals will not need to return their received payments. However, they are allowed to reapply to their former positions in respective departments. The court also ensured that differently-abled candidates will receive wages during the new selection process, while a filed plea concerning the CBI investigation into supernumerary positions is scheduled for evaluation.

(With inputs from agencies.)