WBSSC: ‘Could be Contempt of Court,’ Why Firdous Samim Warns Against SSC’s New Recruitment Rules

WBSSC: Complications persist regarding the controversial 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) teacher recruitment process, which was later cancelled. After the verdicts of the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court, the state government has issued a notification for new teacher recruitment (SLST 2025). However, prominent lawyer Firdous Samim has now questioned the rules of this new recruitment process, especially their applicability to the candidates of the cancelled 2016 panel. In a recent interview, he strongly criticized these new rules and demanded that the re-evaluation for the 2016 candidates be done based on the old rules.

According to Advocate Samim, “If any re-evaluation or opportunity for creating a new panel is given for the 2016 recruitment process, it must be done according to the rules prevalent in 2016.” He clearly stated that imposing the new rules (2025) on the cancelled 2016 process is not only illegal but could also go against court directives, potentially amounting to contempt of court. His argument is, “Generally, any law or rule applies prospectively (to the future), not retrospectively (impacting past events).”

Firdous Samim’s Concerns with the New Rules:

Advocate Samim provided a comparative analysis of the old (2016) and new (2025) recruitment regulations, highlighting several alarming aspects:

1. Reduced Importance of Academic Qualifications:
   • Old Rule (Class IX-X): 35 marks for academic and professional qualifications.
   • New Rule (2025): Only 10 marks for academic qualifications.
   Firdous Samim believes this is an injustice to highly meritorious candidates who might lag slightly in the written exam. Results from Madhyamik, Higher Secondary, graduation, and post-graduation are being rendered virtually insignificant.
2. New Addition of Marks for Experience:
   • New Rule (2025): 10 marks for prior experience.
   This was not part of the 2016 rules. Consequently, fresh graduates or candidates without experience will be at a direct disadvantage. Samim questioned how these experience marks would apply to candidates who were deprived for so long due to corruption.
3. Mark Distribution and Increase for Interview & Demonstration:
   • Old Rule (Class IX-X): 10 marks for the interview.
   • New Rule (2025): 20 marks for oral interview and lecture demonstration.
   According to Samim, these 20 marks will give interviewers excessive discretionary power, which could lead to a lack of transparency.
4. Increased Weightage for Written Exam & Change in Basis for Interview List:
   • Old Rule (Class IX-X): Written exam 55 marks, interview list based on 90 marks.
   • New Rule (2025): Written exam 60 marks, interview list based on 70 marks (Written + Academic).
   While this gives more importance to the written exam, it sidelines academic qualifications in the overall assessment.
5. Change in Ratio for Calling Candidates for Interview:
   Previously, candidates were called in a 1:4 ratio to vacancies. There is now a trend to increase this. This could mean that many might be considered for an interview with only slightly better marks in the written exam, potentially hindering overall merit.

Court Rulings and Current Context:

It is noteworthy that the Calcutta High Court cancelled approximately 25,753 appointments in the 2016 SSC recruitment due to widespread corruption, including OMR sheet manipulation, rank jumping, and jobs for cash. The Supreme Court upheld this decision, describing the recruitment process as “mired in corruption,” and directed the state government to complete a new, transparent recruitment process by December 31st. Accordingly, the West Bengal School Service Commission has issued the SLST 2025 notification, which includes provisions like preserving OMR sheet mirror images for 10 years to enhance transparency.

Although Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured age relaxation and consideration of prior experience for teachers who lost their jobs, according to Advocate Firdous Samim, this is not sufficient for the deprived candidates of 2016. He insists that if any new opportunity arises for those who were eligible as per the 2016 notification, it must follow the old rules; otherwise, it would be “injustice piled upon injustice.”

In this situation, the future of the deserving candidates victimized by the 2016 scam is once again uncertain. On one hand, there is the government’s assurance of transparency in the new recruitment process; on the other, there is the controversy over applying new rules to the old recruitment – making the situation quite complex. It now remains to be seen which way the legal battle will turn and how the state government resolves this specific issue.