Kolkata, February 24, 2026: The ongoing saga of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scandal took a fresh turn today. The Calcutta High Court has directed the commission to file a detailed affidavit explaining the collection of fees from candidates who sought to verify their OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheets.
Transparency vs. “Processing Charges”
The court’s intervention comes after several job aspirants alleged that the commission was charging substantial amounts to provide digital access or physical verification of answer scripts. Justice Amrita Sinha, presiding over the bench, questioned the legal basis for these charges, especially when the recruitment process is already under heavy judicial scrutiny.
“If the goal is transparency, why is there a financial barrier for candidates to see their own evaluation?” the court observed during the hearing.
The Role of the Affidavit
The High Court has ordered the WBSSC to submit an affidavit within the next week. The document must clarify:
- The total amount collected from candidates for OMR verification so far.
- The specific head under which these “processing fees” were categorized.
- Whether these fees were authorized by the state education department or the Supreme Court’s previous guidelines.
Fresh Recruitments Under the Scanner
While the 2016 recruitment panel remains a hotbed of legal battles, this new development affects the SLST 2025 candidates as well. The court has reiterated that to “rule out any illegality,” all OMR sheets must be uploaded to the public domain. The commission had previously handed out duplicate copies of OMRs on the day of the test, but discrepancies in the digital “mirror images” have led to fresh petitions.
Impact on Candidates
For thousands of “untainted” candidates waiting for their final appointments, these legal hurdles represent a double-edged sword. While the affidavit aims to ensure a fair process, the frequent stay orders and demands for verification are pushing the final recruitment deadline further into 2026.
