WB SSC: Supreme Court Sets Date for Mega Hearing of 37 Cases! Thousands of Futures on the Line
Upper Primary Hearing: A highly significant day is on the horizon for thousands of job aspirants of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC). On October 29, 2025, the Supreme Court of India is scheduled to conduct a ‘mega hearing’ concerning the state’s Upper Primary teacher recruitment. The future of countless candidates could be decided on this day, as the apex court has listed a total of 37 related cases for a consolidated hearing, the outcome of which will determine the future course of the entire recruitment process.
Details of the Mega Hearing
This much-anticipated hearing will take place in Court No. 9 of the Supreme Court, before a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Alok Aradhe. The complexity and significance of this legal battle are highlighted by the fact that 36 other cases have been tagged along with one main case for this cluster hearing.
| Subject | Details |
|---|---|
| Hearing Date | October 29, 2025 |
| Court | Supreme Court of India |
| Bench | Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Alok Aradhe (Court No. 9) |
| Total Cases | 37 (1 main case + 36 tagged cases) |
The Core of the Controversy
The primary case among these 37 petitions is ‘Bivek Parihar & Ors. vs. State of West Bengal’. This case is fundamentally related to the ‘untented’ candidates whom the court had previously allowed to remain in their jobs until December 31, 2025, and to participate in the new selection process.
At the heart of all these legal challenges lies the contentious issue of eligibility criteria for the recruitment of Upper Primary teachers (excluding Physical Education). The dispute arose from a change in rules:
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Join on Telegram- 2016 Rule: Initially, candidates with 45% marks in Graduation or Post-Graduation were eligible to apply.
- Subsequent Change: The School Service Commission later amended this rule, making a minimum of 50% marks mandatory.
In the Bivek Parihar case, the court had passed an interim order stating that the new 50% marks condition could not be imposed on candidates who had applied based on the 2016 rule of 45%. These candidates were permitted to participate in the new recruitment process. Subsequently, multiple petitions were filed seeking clarification and modification of this very order.
Why Are So Many Cases Being Heard Together?
Among the 36 cases tagged with the main Bivek Parihar petition, 33 are Miscellaneous Applications (MA) and 3 are Special Leave Petitions (SLP). The majority of the MAs have been filed seeking “modification” or “clarification” of the court’s previous orders. The applicants want to understand if the court’s directives are being implemented correctly or to ascertain their precise meaning. Additionally, new SLPs from applicants such as Abhijit Sadhukhan, Uttam Majumdar, and Rehana Begum have also been included in this cluster.
In conclusion, the hearing on October 29 is set to play a historic role in determining the future of the Upper Primary recruitment process. Thousands of job aspirants across Bengal are now anxiously waiting for the answers to critical questions: Will the court uphold its previous order, or will it issue a new directive on the eligibility criteria?
