The Calcutta High Court on July 1 sharply reprimanded the West Bengal government and the WBSSC for permitting candidates previously identified as “tainted” in the high-profile cash-for-jobs teacher recruitment scam to reapply under a fresh process—despite explicit Supreme Court directives to the contrary. Justice Saugata Bhattacharya pointedly asked: “Why are tainted candidates being permitted in spite of directions by the Supreme Court?” noting the Commission’s May 30 notification lacked any explicit ban for these individuals .

Furthermore, the Court flagged a major divergence from the SC-mandated framework: the 2025 recruitment notification introduced significant changes in weightage, allocating 60 marks to the written test (up from 55 in 2016) and reducing academic qualifications’ weightage from 35 marks to just 10—contradicting the Supreme Court’s instruction to replicate the 2016 format .

The Calcutta High Court has directed the state and WBSSC to explain (without seeking to strike down the notification yet) why this fresh recruitment allows ineligible, tainted candidates and deviates from the SC‑approved structure, signaling the bench is ready to intervene if the explanations are inadequate .

sources