WB bribe-for-job case: WBSSC lists 1,806 ‘tainted’ teachers; HC orders OMR release

The bench of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on April 3 had said there was no way to segregate the tainted from the non-tainted teachers

Kolkata: The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Thursday released a list of 1,806 “tainted” teachers from the 2016 appointment panel, seven months after the Supreme Court cancelled all 25,752 appointments, saying there was no way to segregate “tainted” from “non-tainted” candidates.

The list was released following orders the Calcutta high court passed in September while hearing petitions filed in connection with the fresh recruitment tests being held now. (Representative photo)

The bench of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on April 3 had said there was no way to segregate the tainted from the non-tainted teachers.

“WBSSC has published a comprehensive list of 1,806 people who were selected as assistant teachers in 2016. Their name, roll number, date of birth, identity of their parents and the subjects they taught have been published,” a state government official said, requesting anonymity.

The list was released following orders the Calcutta high court passed in September while hearing petitions filed in connection with the fresh recruitment tests being held now. The petitioners argued that those suspected of paying bribes to get jobs in 2016 cannot be allowed to take the fresh tests as ordered by the Supreme Court in April.

“We had published the list in September but the high court directed that all information on the tainted candidates should be made public,” the government official said.

Meanwhile, justice Amrita Sinha of the Calcutta high court on Thursday directed the WBSSC to publish the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets of all candidates who appeared for the fresh tests for recruitment of class 9–10 and class 11–12 teachers, lawyers present during the hearing said.

“The judge observed that WBSSC must ensure transparency throughout the recruitment process which will end in December,” a lawyer said, requesting anonymity. The case will be heard again on December 10.

The petitioners are those who appeared for the recently held written tests and are awaiting interviews. They have alleged that some tainted candidates from 2016 were found in the list of those who qualified in the written examinations for secondary (Class 9 and 10) and higher secondary (Class 11 and 12) teachers.

The petitioners have pointed out that the Supreme Court said in its April 17 order that only the non-tainted teachers may be allowed to go through the fresh selection process.

Education minister Bratya Basu told the media that the WBSSC will complete the recruitment process by December 31, the deadline set by the top court.

“Opposition parties have taken potshots at the Trinamool Congress government on this issue and have raised all sorts of allegations. But we will ensure that the process is transparent and complete by December 31 as directed by the Supreme Court,” Basu said.

In May 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the appointment of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the WBSSC and the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021, when TMC’s Partha Chatterjee was education minister. Many appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5–15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.

The Enforcement Directorate, which started a parallel probe, arrested Chatterjee in July 2022. Many TMC leaders and government officials are facing trial in this case. Chatterjee was released on bail earlier this month after being in judicial custody for three years.