Top Court refuses to interfere in Bengal SSC group C, D recruitment process

Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere in the ongoing recruitment process for Group C and Group D posts under the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).

A plea seeking a fixed time frame to complete the recruitment was dismissed by a Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Alok Aradhe.

A section of ‘eligible’ non-teaching staff aspirants had approached the apex court, urging it to direct the state government and the SSC to complete the recruitment within a specific period, similar to the time-bound schedule fixed for teacher appointments earlier this year. The petitioners argued that without such a time limit, they were left with no assurance about when the recruitment would actually take place.

During the hearing, the Bench observed that the main case concerning the 2016 recruitment process had already been decided and questioned the need for repeated applications on the same issue. “No additional petitions will be heard. We have already cancelled the entire panel. In such a situation, why are fresh applications being filed on the same matter?” the court remarked.

Counsel for the petitioners submitted that while a notification had been issued for teacher recruitment, there had been delays in advertising vacancies for Group C and Group D posts, creating uncertainty for the aspirants. However, the Bench dismissed the plea, making it clear that no further applications on the same issue would be entertained.

The court observed that if a new notification for recruitment is issued, the petitioners will have the liberty to move the appropriate forum afresh, but not directly before the Supreme Court. “You have the freedom to approach the High Court, but no further miscellaneous applications will be heard here,” the Bench said.

In its April ruling, the Supreme Court had cancelled the entire 2016 SSC panel and directed the state to complete a fresh teacher recruitment process by December 31, 2024. Monday’s order clarified that the earlier time-bound direction applied only to teacher appointments, not to non-teaching staff recruitment.