WBSSC Recruitment: Age Limit Relaxation Among New Rules Announced
Last Updated:
New rules for candidates affected by the WBSSC 2016 recruitment scam have been issued, offering fresh opportunities and greater transparency
Every year, thousands of young candidates prepare for government jobs through the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) examinations. However, the recruitment process has faced repeated controversies, with the 2016 WBSSC recruitment scam standing out as one of the most notorious cases.
On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court of India annulled the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff following revelations of widespread irregularities. While the verdict disrupted the livelihoods of many, new regulations have been introduced to provide affected employees with a second chance. These revised WBSSC recruitment rules include age relaxation and greater transparency to restore faith in the system.
The WBSSC Recruitment Scam
In 2016, the WBSSC conducted the State Level Selection Test (SLST) to recruit assistant teachers and non-teaching staff for classes 9 to 12. Although there were 24,640 vacancies, 25,753 appointments were made – an immediate indication of malpractice.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe uncovered extensive tampering, including manipulation of OMR answer sheets, alteration of candidate rankings, and appointments made after the expiry of the selection panel's validity. Alarmingly, some government posts were allotted on the basis of blank OMR sheets.
Naisa Communications, responsible for scanning the answer sheets, outsourced the work to Data Scantech, which allegedly tampered with the data. In 2022, the CBI seized three hard disks from a former Naisa employee, uncovering further evidence of irregularities.
Supreme Court Verdict
On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier Kolkata High Court ruling that declared the 2016 recruitment process 'tainted by manipulation and fraud'. The Court criticised the suspicious destruction of OMR sheets and the unlawful inflation of marks for ineligible candidates.
Importantly, the Court ruled that employees dismissed due to the scam would not be required to return their salaries. Furthermore, employees with disabilities were permitted to retain their positions on humanitarian grounds.
New Recruitment Guidelines
The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government to conduct a fresh recruitment within three months, introducing several new rules:
Revised Scoring In The New Notification
Following Supreme Court instructions, 10 marks will be awarded for teaching experience, 10 marks for lecture demonstrations, and 10 marks for graduation or postgraduate performance, replacing secondary and higher secondary marks.
The exam totals 100 marks, with scores above 60% earning 10 marks, 50-60% earning 8 marks, and below 50% earning 6 marks.
First Published:
May 30, 2025, 14:14 IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
High courts can't suo motu enhance punishment in appeal: SC
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held high courts cannot exercise suo motu revision powers either to enhance the sentence or to convict an accused on any other charge in the absence of appeal filed by the victim, complainant or the state. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the verdict on an appeal filed by one Nagarajan, challenging an order of Madurai bench of the Madras High Court which convicted him for abetment of suicide of a woman and sentenced him to five-years rigorous imprisonment. He was also convicted of charges of outraging the modesty and house trespass. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Sistema TMS para empresas de logística Sistema TMS embarcador Saiba Mais Undo The top court noted that the trial court acquitted him of the charges of Section 306 of IPC for abetment of suicide and convicted him only for outraging the modesty of the woman and house trespass. Nagarajan appealed in the high court, which upheld the trial court's order of conviction but suo motu initiated proceedings for his conviction under Section 306 of the IPC and convicted him. Live Events It came on record that no appeal was filed by the state, victim or complainant for enhancement of sentence or acquittal under section 306 of the IPC. "An appeal filed by the accused/convict and in the absence of any appeal filed by the victim, complainant or the state, the high court cannot exercise suo motu revision either to enhance the sentence or to convict the appellant on any other charge," the bench said. As a result, the bench set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant under Section 306 of IPC but confirmed his conviction for "outraging the modesty of woman" and "house trespass". "The appellant is directed to undergo the sentence and to pay the fine as imposed by the sessions court," it held. The top court noted that the sentences were ordered to run concurrently by the high court. "Thus, a conviction awarded for offences under Sections 354 and 448 of IPC has also resulted in a conviction under Section 306 of IPC and an enhanced sentence, that too, in an appeal filed by none other than the appellant," it said. According to the bench "the rationale of the above can be explained in simple language by stating that no appellant by filing an appeal can be worse-off than what he was". "That is exactly what we are seeking to reiterate in our judgment having regard to the facts of the present case." Justice Nagarathna, who authored the verdict, said for exercising powers of the appellate court for enhancement of sentence in an appeal filed either by the state or the complainant or the victim, CrPC provides that the appellate court can reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the accused, or order him to be re-tried by a court competent to try the offence, or alter the finding by maintaining the sentence, or with or without altering the finding, alter the nature or the extent, of the sentence so as to enhance or reduce the same. "Thus, the power to enhance the sentence can be exercised by the appellate court only in an appeal filed by the state, victim or complainant, provided the accused has had an opportunity of showing cause against such enhancement," the court held. The bench said that the trial court should also be very careful while passing an order of sentence which must be "concomitant" with the charges framed and the findings arrived at while arriving at a judgment of conviction. Nagarajan had challenged the November 29, 2021 order of the high court. He was accused of outraging the modesty of his neighbour by trespassing her house on July 11, 2003. The woman died by suicide along with her infant, the very next day.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Trying to find out if any NCLT members involved in Rs 3 lakh bribe case, says CBI
Mumbai: The CBI probing the Rs 3 lakh bribe case involving the arrested deputy registrar, Charan Pratap Singh, at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is trying to ascertain if any members are involved. The CBI informed the special court that "the accused (Singh) is involved in a corruption racket which may lead to a bigger conspiracy of corrupt practices taking place at NCLT". Singh has moved a bail plea, submitting that during searches at his homes, the total cash found was merely Rs 22,000. "The accused owns no property in Mumbai and is living in a shared accommodation in a 8x10 chawl with a common bathroom and toilet," the plea submitted through advocate Shalabh Saxena said. The plea said his fundamental rights were violated, the grounds for his arrest were vague, and there is no concrete evidence linking him to the alleged offence. A court officer allegedly received Rs 50,000 as a share from Singh to influence an NCLT member's decision. The CBI has also found out that Singh's secretary stayed at the complainant's Lonavla hotel with her family without paying a Rs 30,000 bill which Singh adjusted in his bribe demand. A dispute between siblings over a family-owned hotel in Lonavla is pending before the NCLT. One of the brothers filed a case at the CBI, stating that Singh had demanded a bribe from him to influence the proceedings in his favour. On Monday, the CBI filed a fresh remand application with the special CBI court, seeking custody of Singh after stating that he transferred Rs 50,000 to Pradeep Kumar Nagarale, an NCLT Mumbai court officer, as part of illegal gratification to influence an NCLT board member, in advance on behalf of the complainant. The CBI stated Singh holds crucial information about staff members who assisted him and discussed illegal payment distribution. They indicated that questioning could reveal substantial evidence about other senior NCLT Mumbai officials' involvement. Following dramatic events last week, the CBI arrested Singh and a private individual. The special court initially rejected the CBI's custody request, ordering judicial custody instead. The CBI subsequently filed a fresh application on Monday, with the hearing scheduled for June 9. The CBI found deleted WhatsApp messages between Singh and court officer Pradeep Kumar Nagrale regarding the Rs 50,000 payment. Nagrale informed the CBI that Singh offered him a share in the bribe for assistance in a pending NCLT Mumbai case. Last Wednesday night, Singh arranged to meet the complainant at a Colaba restaurant to collect a Rs 3 lakh bribe. He directed the money be given to his associate, Karsan Ahir, who was summoned to collect it. After Singh departed, Ahir collected the money from the complainant when the CBI arrested him red-handed. The CBI team failed to locate Singh in a nearby lane and he switched off his mobile suspecting the trap. When the CBI team reached Singh's house in the vicinity, they found a person was opening his house door. The person told the CBI that Singh was at his house close by and he was Singh's friend. The CBI visited his house and arrested Singh. Singh's bail plea, which will also come up for hearing on June 9, said that he was taken into custody late at night and this was a "gross violation of his personal liberty". The plea also said that the CBI failed to demonstrate any "cogent or urgent necessity" to justify his arrest. The bail application labels the CBI's 'grounds of arrest' document as "vague, general, and lacking in specific attribution of culpability to the accused". It was argued that the document contains "speculative assertions and generalized allegations, without any concrete evidence or material that directly links the accused to the commission of the alleged offence". "Searches were conducted at the residence of accused in Lucknow as well as in Mumbai. No tainted money or any other incriminating material has been recovered from his possession," the plea said. The accused also pointed out to his limited role and responsibilities. The plea said that his duties are primarily procedural and judicial, and he possesses no sanctioning authority or financial decision-making power within the NCLT's administrative structure. "His functions are conducted under supervision and through proper record, and no overt act attributed to him points toward criminal conspiracy or misconduct," the plea said.
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
SC acquits man of friend's murder, says conviction sans finding on motive
The police claimed Vaibhav fatally shot his friend by the service revolver of his father. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma observed the trial court and the high court held Vaibhav guilty based on circumstantial evidence without attributing motive to the crime. New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted a man of his friend's murder and held no clear motive was attributed to the crime which took place in 2010. The convict, however, claimed the victim, namely, Mangesh accidentally shot himself. Vaibhav said he acted out of fear and cleaned up the crime scene aside and removed the dead body. The bench said, 'We hereby conclude that the high court has erred in arriving at the finding of guilt and in upholding the verdict of the trial court. The circumstantial evidence on record is not consistent and leaves a reasonable possibility of an alternate outcome i.e. of innocence of the appellant on the charges of murder and illegal usage of firearms.' His conviction under Sections 302 (murder) IPC and a provision of the Arms Act was set aside. The bench, however, upheld his conviction under Section 201 IPC (causing disappearance of evidence) and sentenced him to the period already undergone. Justice Sharma, who authored the verdict, said a complete absence of motive though not conclusive was a relevant factor which weighed in the accused's favour. 'No doubt, the final effect of such absence on the outcome of the case shall depend upon the quality and weight of surrounding evidence. In the present case, the testimonies of prosecution witnesses have invariably revealed that the appellant and the deceased were friends and there was no ill-will between them. Even the father of the deceased has testified to that effect,' the judge said. The bench noted the relevance of motive in a case of homicide was a subject of prolonged discussion. 'Ordinarily, in cases involving direct evidence of the commission of crime, motive has little role to play as presence or absence of motive is immaterial if the commission of the crime stands proved through other evidence. Even otherwise, motiveless crimes are not unknown to the society. However, in cases purely based on circumstantial evidence, the absence of motive could raise serious questions and might even render the chain of evidence as doubtful,' it said. On the subsequent conduct of Vaibhav of tampering with the crime scene, the bench said it was consistent with the theory of accidental death. 'That his act of removal of the dead body and concealment of articles was a result of fear of his father – is quite natural. A young boy studying in first year of college, with no criminal background and with no motive in sight, would certainly have become scared on seeing that his friend has accidentally shot himself in the living room of his house with the pistol belonging to his father and is lying in a pool of blood,' it said. His act though punishable by law, the court noted, was not unnatural and couldn't amount to murder. The subsequent acts of cleaning up the crime scene and making false enquiries amounted to disappearance of evidence and raised grave suspicion against the convict. 'However, mere suspicion, no matter how grave, cannot take the place of proof in a criminal trial. The suspicion ought to have been substantiated by undeniable, reliable, unequivocal, consistent and credible circumstantial evidence, which does not leave the probability of any other theory,' it held. The theory put across by the appellant was found to be 'fairly probable', supported by medical evidence including the examination of the bullet injury and trajectory. The bench further held that the finding of the courts below was not supported by medical evidence. The accused and the victim were students at Bagla Homeopathy Medical College in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra and often commuted together on their two-wheelers. On September 16, 2010, they left college together on Mangesh's scooter, had tea at a stall and came to Vaibhav's house in the afternoon. When Mangesh's father discovered late evening that his son had not reached home, he looked for him and eventually lodged a missing report. Mangesh's body was discovered the following day and Vaibhav was booked as he was last in the victim's company. PTI MNL MNL AMK AMK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
