SC criticizes Bengal Govt over 26,000 job cancellations, raises doubts on SSC's 2016 panel

The Supreme Court today took strong exception to the West Bengal government's handling of the 26,000 job cancellations, raising critical questions about the recruitment process conducted by the School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016. The court, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, expressed concerns over whether it was feasible to separate qualified candidates from unqualified ones in the 2016 recruitment panel, as there appeared to be a lack of clear distinction during the selection process.

A significant issue discussed during the hearing was the authenticity of the OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheets used in the recruitment process. The court pointed out that there was no clear verification mechanism to ensure the uploaded OMR sheets were genuine copies of the original sheets. According to the court, the absence of original OMR sheets led to concerns regarding the validity of the recruitment process. Chief Justice Khanna remarked on the potential discrepancies within the SSC 2016 panel, questioning whether the issues were limited to a few cases or if they were pervasive across the entire panel.

The counsel representing the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education further highlighted the state’s concern regarding the broader impact of job cancellations. The counsel warned that such a large-scale job cancellation could significantly affect the state’s education system, especially in the wake of 26,000 vacancies being annulled. The lawyer suggested that the issue was multifaceted, using the analogy of a "Mahabharata" to emphasize the complex nature of the situation and the challenges involved in resolving it.

Additionally, the court expressed surprise upon discovering blank OMR sheets, raising further doubts about the integrity of the evaluation process. The presence of these blank sheets intensified concerns about potential tampering with the recruitment examination. With the case ongoing, the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of the SSC 2016 recruitment process continues to raise fundamental questions about transparency, verification procedures, and the long-term impact on the state’s education infrastructure.