Supreme Court likely to hear SSC job cancellation review petition this week

Kolkata: The Supreme Court is likely to begin hearing review petitions related to the cancellation of 26,000 school jobs in Bengal from August 4.

The hearings will continue until August 8. The decision of the court to hear the matter this week was reportedly notified by the apex court’s Assistant Registrar (Listing), who directed the lawyers concerned to be present during the proceedings.

Among the matters listed is the review petition filed by the Bengal government against the apex court’s April 3 verdict, which had quashed the entire panel of the 2016 recruitment under the School Service Commission (SSC). The court had held that there were irregularities and corruption in the recruitment process, which rendered it legally unsustainable.

The apex court had directed the state to initiate a fresh recruitment process. The court had observed that it was not possible to distinguish between eligible and ineligible candidates due to the scale of irregularities. However, those employed under the now-cancelled recruitment drive would be allowed to apply in the new selection process.

The state government and the SSC had filed review petitions seeking reconsideration of the verdict. These petitions are now scheduled for hearing this week.

Recently, the apex court, while dismissing a petition challenging the new recruitment rules framed by the SSC, recalled that the 2024 ruling cancelling the 2016 SSC panel, which led to the termination of over 25,000 jobs, was delivered after thorough deliberation.