Kolkata, 07 August (H.S.) : The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) on Friday informed the Calcutta High Court that the fresh teacher recruitment process will be conducted strictly under the 2025 recruitment rules, while reiterating the state government's zero tolerance policy towards corruption.

The submission was made before the bench of Justice Amrita Sinha during the hearing of petitions related to the SLST recruitment process. Appearing for the state, Senior Standing Counsel Nilanjan Bhattacharya told the court that the government is committed to ensuring a transparent recruitment process and that the second SLST recruitment will be carried out under the newly framed 2025 rules.

The issue assumes significance after the Supreme Court scrapped the entire 2016 SSC recruitment panel over large-scale irregularities and directed the Commission to initiate a fresh selection process. In compliance with the apex court's directions, the SSC framed new recruitment rules in 2025 and began the fresh recruitment exercise.

However, the new rules have been challenged before the Calcutta High Court by several candidates. The petitioners argue that vacancies arising from the 2016 recruitment should be filled under the rules that were in force at that time, rather than under the 2025 regulations. The High Court had earlier directed the state government and the SSC to clarify their official stand on the issue.

During the hearing, Justice Amrita Sinha reminded the Commission that several other issues related to the fresh recruitment remain under judicial consideration, including age relaxation, enhancement of vacancies, and objections to the evaluation process. The court directed the SSC to take these aspects into account while proceeding with the recruitment.

The issue of OBC reservation also came up during the proceedings. While the earlier recruitment provided 17% reservation for OBC candidates, the legal position changed after the Calcutta High Court struck down nearly five lakh OBC certificates issued after 2010 and invalidated several newly included OBC categories. Consequently, the 2025 recruitment rules reduced the OBC reservation quota to 7%.

The court observed that the OBC reservation issue is of considerable importance and advised the state government and the SSC to jointly evolve a final policy to avoid future legal complications. The matter is scheduled to be heard next on August 21.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh