SLST experience case: When Will 10 Experience Marks Be Added? Confusion Over Lawyer’s Contradictory Reply in Court, What Is the Truth?

SLST experience case: A significant confusion has emerged regarding the timing of adding the 10 marks allocated for experience in the SSC’s SLST recruitment process. Will these marks be added before the interview, or after? A hearing was held at the Calcutta High Court to resolve this critical question, where the response from the SSC’s counsel has further complicated the situation. The hearing took place on October 29th before the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, raising new questions among job aspirants.

What Happened During the Hearing?

At the beginning of the hearing, the petitioners’ side stated that they were only seeking clarity from the court on this matter. Their primary question was, “When exactly will the 10 marks for experience be added?” The petitioners’ lawyer argued that neither the Calcutta High Court nor the Supreme Court has definitively settled this issue yet.

In response, the School Service Commission’s (SSC) counsel, Kalyan Banerjee, claimed that the matter has already been clarified by a Division Bench and the Supreme Court. However, the petitioners’ lawyer countered this by arguing that their core issue isn’t about awarding the marks, but about the timing of when they will be awarded, which no court has decided.

The petitioners’ counsel requested a resolution before November 3rd, claiming that the recruitment process results were scheduled to be published on that day. The SSC’s lawyer refuted this, stating that the verification process would begin after November 3rd, followed by the interviews.

The Judge’s Direct Question and SSC’s Reply

In a crucial part of the hearing, Justice Bhattacharyya directly asked the SSC’s lawyer, Kalyan Banerjee, “When are you awarding the marks for experience? Before the interview or after the interview?”

Initially, Kalyan Banerjee evaded a direct answer, stating he needed more clarity on the matter. However, when the judge pressed further and asked, “So, you are awarding the marks after the publication of the result?” the SSC’s counsel admitted, “Yes, we are awarding it after the publication of the result.”

Another lawyer for an applicant, Sudipta Dasgupta, then informed the court that according to the 2022 rules, these 10 marks are to be awarded after the interview, not before the interview list is prepared.

Contradictory Information and Confusion

The SSC lawyer’s statement in court has sparked a major controversy. This is because the SSC Chairman had previously stated clearly in a press conference that, as per the rules, the teaching experience marks would be added before the interview, and the interview list would be prepared based on that.

• SSC Lawyer’s statement in court: Marks will be awarded after the publication of results.
• SSC Chairman’s previous statement: Marks will be added before the interview.

This conflicting information has led to extreme confusion among the candidates. Although the statement in court suggests the marks will be added later, the possibility of the final panel being prepared based on the SSC Chairman’s earlier announcement cannot be ruled out. It now remains to be seen which path the commission ultimately takes and how it will affect the fate of the job aspirants.