The high court has dismissed a petition challenging the School Service Commission (SSC)’s list of 1,806 teachers labelled as “tainted” that was published on Saturday following a Supreme Court directive.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya of Calcutta High Court questioned the timing of the petition, asking why the affected teachers waited until just before crucial selection tests to challenge their classification.

“Where were you all these days? The moment the SSC came out with a list of the tainted candidates, you thought of approaching the court. The Supreme Court has given a specific order. Still, you are questioning how you could be identified as tainted,” the judge remarked.

The controversy stems from a broader recruitment scandal that has plagued Bengal’s education system. On April 3, the Supreme Court terminated 17,206 teachers who were recruited through what it termed a “vitiated” process in the 2016 examinations conducted by the SSC.

However, the court distinguished between different categories of affected teachers:

• 15,403 teachers were classified as “not specifically tainted” and allowed to continue working until December 31, 2025
• These teachers must pass fresh selection tests to retain their positions
• The remaining 1,806 teachers were deemed “tainted” and barred from this relief

The legal challenge

The petitioners’ lawyer, Anindya Lahiri, argued in the high court on Tuesday that the classification criteria were flawed. He contended that teachers shouldn’t be labelled “tainted” unless they fell into three specific categories of illegalities outlined in the court’s April 22, 2024, order nullifying the examinations:

• Submitting blank OMR answer sheets
• Getting jobs after panel expiry
• Having names not featured among recommended candidates

“According to Calcutta High Court”s April 22, 2024, order, candidates who got jobs through these three categories of illegalities could be identified as tainted,” Lahiri said.

Justice Bhattacharyya repeatedly pressed Lahiri on why he wasn’t addressing the Supreme Court’s directive of August 28 this year, which specifically ordered the SSC to compile the tainted list to bar these candidates from appearing in the fresh selection tests.

The court suggested the petition was being used to “unsettle” the fresh recruitment process, with selection tests scheduled for September 7 (secondary level) and September 14 (higher secondary level).

“Now, at the fag end, just before the selection test, you are trying to unsettle it. There should be a limit to everything. You are coming on behalf of the tainted candidates who were not allowed to work till December 31, 2025. So far (as) tainted is concerned, enough is enough,” Justice Bhattacharyya said.

Senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, representing the state government, informed the court that the SSC compiled the “tainted” teachers’ list after cross-referencing it with a CBI report.

An education department official expressed hope that the examinations would now proceed without further obstacles, noting that the recruitment process had been stalled for nine years.

“Even the Supreme Court is frustrated with these efforts to create roadblocks against the examination,” the official said.