Kolkata, April 4: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, clarified that candidates who were appointed to the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) panel for 2016 but were found to be ineligible due to securing their positions through illegal payments, will not only lose their jobs but also be required to refund the salaries they have received, along with interest.
According to initial estimates, each ineligible candidate will have to return between Rs 11 lakh and Rs 26 lakh, as per WBSSC sources. However, the amount could vary depending on the number of years the candidate served and the applicable pay scale. The rough calculations were based on the starting pay scales for ineligible candidates. Those appointed as higher secondary-level teachers are expected to repay the most, while Group-D non-teaching staff will have to return the least amount.
The repayment period is set from 2019, the year when the candidates selected through the 2016 WBSSC panel began their service, and will continue until 2024. This decision follows an order from the Calcutta High Court in April last year, which canceled 25,753 jobs across teaching and non-teaching positions.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court's division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, upheld the Calcutta High Court's ruling issued in April 2024 by Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi.
For candidates who secured teaching jobs at the higher secondary level, with a starting average monthly gross salary of about Rs 44,000, the amount to be returned will be approximately Rs 26 lakh. This calculation assumes no salary increments during the interim period, and the repayment is for the service period between 2019 and 2024.
Candidates appointed to secondary-level teaching roles, who had a starting average monthly salary of around Rs 40,000, will be required to return roughly Rs 24 lakh.
In the case of non-teaching staff in Group-C, with an average starting salary of Rs 26,000, the refund amount will be around Rs 16 lakh.
Lastly, non-teaching staff in Group-D, who had an initial average salary of Rs 19,000, will have to repay approximately Rs 11 lakh.
