Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 7 : Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya on Sunday criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government over the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment case, alleging that the teacher selection process was "vitiated by systematic fraud" and jobs were "openly sold in the market".
He also said that the School Service Commission is trying to protect some of their favourites by not giving the "tainted candidates" names.
Speaking to ANI after the SC's judgment in the case, Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said, "2016 SSC exam, which was probably the first attempt on behalf of the TMC government coming back to power, to hold the teacher's selection process was vitiated by systematic fraud. It has become quite clear after the Supreme Court judgment that the government had deliberately vitiated these elections by fraud. The teacher's job was openly sold in the market."
He further alleged that corruption was perpetrated in the teacher's recruitment process.
"The government did not take any step to implement the SC's order. Still now, the SSC has not honestly declared the list of the tainted candidates. They are still trying to protect some of their favourites by not giving the detailed names. That is a clear indication of how this corruption was really perpetrated," Advocate Bikash Ranjan said.
Earlier, on August 31, the West Bengal School Service Commission released the list of 1804 ineligible candidates, following the Supreme Court's direction to publish the list of 'tainted' candidates involved in the cash-for-jobs scam. The commission released the roll number, serial number and name of the ineligible candidates.
The West Bengal Central SSC in a notice said, "In compliance with the Order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India dated August 28, 2025 in the matter of SLP(C) No.23784/2025(BEJOY BISWAS & ORS. Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.), the list of candidates as mentioned in the List 1 is attached below, who were selected, whose selection has been set aside by the Hon'ble High Court and confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, is hereby published in the official website of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission in order to place the List of such tainted candidates in public domain."
Earlier on July 14, SSC teachers who lost their jobs after the Calcutta High Court decision in 2024, launched a protest march 'Nabanno Abhiyan' in Howrah towards the Bengal Secretariat under the banner of 'Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha'.They lost their jobs following a Supreme Court judgment that held the entire appointment process was tainted. The teachers who lost their jobs staged several protests against Mamata Banerjee's government, demanding justice.
Approximately 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal lost their jobs due to alleged corruption in various examinations conducted by the state's School Service Commission.
The bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the West Bengal SSC's selection process was based on large-scale manipulations and fraud, and ordered the TMC government to initiate a fresh selection process.
On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court's decision to quash the recruitment of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff by the WBSSC in 2016 for the state-run and aided schools. The top court's verdict was delivered in response to a petition filed by the West Bengal government, which challenged an April 2022 order of the Calcutta High Court.