Case file · WBSSC · surfaced 22 Nov 2021

WBSSC 1st SLST 2016 — OMR tampering, minister arrested

Stalled documented status: Arrests made

Confidence B — core facts citable to court or official records; some primary documents not yet on file.

The 2016 school-recruitment tests became one of India's largest exam-integrity cases: OMR sheets were tampered with and ranks sold. Calcutta High Court handed the probe to the CBI in November 2021; the ED arrested the then education minister in July 2022 with cash recoveries running into crores. On Supreme Court direction the commission published details of 907 candidates whose marks were manipulated, and courts later cancelled over 25,000 appointments from the affected panels.

Examination: 1st State Level Selection Test (teacher recruitment) 2016
Conducting body: West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC)
Exam date: 27 Nov 2016
Leak date (as documented): —
Surfaced: 22 Nov 2021
States: West Bengal
Candidates affected: ~22.0 lakh
Leak vector: Insider (digital)
State govt at the time: AITC, West Bengal
Last reviewed: 11 Jun 2026

Stall clock — no docket movement for

1,052

days (2y 322d) · last movement 2023-07-25

Accountability Gap Index

national average 0.97 / 7 · how this is scored →

0 / 7

✗ FIR within 30 days
✗ Charge sheet within 180 days
✗ Any conviction
✗ Exam cancelled & fully re-held
✗ Fee refund documented
✗ Official permanently removed
✗ Reform gazette-notified

Each milestone scores one point only when the register holds a document for it. The gap is what the missing points describe.

How it surfaced

Who found it

Court proceedings

Writ petitions by wait-listed candidates exposed rank-jumping and OMR manipulation; forensic imaging of the commission's servers followed.

The conducting body's first response

Denied it

The commission defended the panels for years in court before the OMR evidence was retrieved from seized hard disks.

The docket

Every legal action on record, in order. Each row cites its document.

22 Nov 2021

Case transferred · Calcutta High Court

Calcutta HC order, Nov 2021

High Court directed the CBI to take over the investigation into the recruitment irregularities.

per: West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment scam (Wikipedia (compiled record), 22 Apr 2024)
23 Jul 2022

Arrest · Enforcement Directorate

ED ECIR (SSC recruitment), arrest 23.07.2022

The then education minister arrested; cash and assets recovered from premises linked to an associate.

per: West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment scam (Wikipedia (compiled record), 22 Apr 2024)
25 Jul 2023

Order / direction · Supreme Court of India

Diary Nos. 28088 & 28468 of 2023

Commission directed to publish details of 907 candidates whose OMR marks were found manipulated in the XI–XII SLST.

per: Direction to publish details of 907 candidates, 1st SLST 2016 (XI–XII) (Supreme Court of India, 25 Jul 2023)

What candidates got

Outcome	Ordered by	Order date	Detail
Results withheld	Calcutta High Court / Supreme Court	22 Apr 2024	Appointments from affected panels cancelled by court order; fresh selection processes ordered.

Officials & institutions implicated

Recorded at position level. A personal name appears only in the "Named individuals" table below, behind the naming gate.

Arrested

Education Minister, West Bengal (2016) · 23 Jul 2022

Arrested by the ED in the recruitment money trail; removed from the cabinet days later.
Arrested

Advisor, WBSSC · 10 Aug 2022

Programme advisor arrested by the CBI in the OMR manipulation case.

After the suspension

Suspension is where most coverage ends. This is what the record says happened next — tracking rules →

Education Minister, West Bengal (2016)

Suspended — no dismissal recorded · 28 Jul 2022

Dropped from the cabinet and suspended from his party five days after arrest; remained an MLA for over two years while in custody.

per: Party and cabinet action, 28.07.2022

⚑ marks an official who returned to, or never left, the ministry whose exam leaked.

The investigation trail

Every SIT, committee and inquiry announced for this case — and whether its report ever became public.

Bag Committee (Calcutta HC-appointed)

Formed 6 Dec 2021 · by Calcutta High Court · report submitted 12 May 2022

Report status: public

Found rank-jumping and appointment of candidates with blank OMRs; recommended prosecution of named commission officers. Public through the court record.

What it cost candidates

No register-grade rupee figure — see workings

The workings

The cost here fell on appointees, not applicants: in April 2025 the Supreme Court annulled 25,752 jobs from the affected panels, and court orders required salary refunds from those appointed against blank OMRs.

No register-grade estimate of aggregate salary clawback exists.

no fee refund documented Not a fee case — salaries, not fees, were ordered recovered from specific categories of appointees.

methodology →

per: Supreme Court judgment, April 2025.

Sources on file

Tier 1 · primary Direction to publish details of 907 candidates, 1st SLST 2016 (XI–XII) — Supreme Court of India · Diary Nos. 28088 & 28468 of 2023 · 25 Jul 2023
Tier 2 · reported West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment scam — Wikipedia (compiled record) · 22 Apr 2024 [archived]

Status log

Every status this register has ever assigned to this case. Append-only.

22 Nov 2021	ALLEGED	Allegations surfaced publicly.
23 Jul 2022	ALLEGED → ARRESTS_MADE	The then education minister arrested; cash and assets recovered from premises linked to an associate.

Act on this record

File an RTI on this case pre-filled from the docket · RTI Act 2005 · ₹10 fee

The application below is pre-filled from this case file. Add your name and address, then send it to the Public Information Officer of West Bengal School Service Commission — online via rtionline.gov.in (central bodies) or your state RTI portal.

To: The Public Information Officer,
West Bengal School Service Commission

Subject: Request under the Right to Information Act, 2005 — WBSSC 1st SLST 2016 — OMR tampering, minister arrested

Under the Right to Information Act 2005, I request the following information:

1. Current status of FIR No. [number] dated [date] concerning the question paper leak in 1st State Level Selection Test (teacher recruitment) 2016.
2. Whether a charge sheet has been filed in this matter; if yes, its date and the court where it was filed.
3. Names and current postings of all officials suspended in connection with this matter.
4. Whether any suspended official has been reinstated; if yes, the order reference and date.
5. Date and outcome of the last court hearing in this matter.

I am enclosing the application fee of Rs. 10 as required. If this application falls outside your office's purview, kindly transfer it under Section 6(3) of the Act and inform me.

Regards,
[Applicant name]
[Address]
[Date]

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