WBCSC challenges Calcutta HC order on publication of marks in college teachers’ recruitment

West Bengal College Service Commission (WBCSC) on Wednesday approached a division bench of the Calcutta High Court challenging an earlier order of a single- judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the same court directing the commission to publish the marks obtained by candidates appearing for recruitment of college teachers.

WBCSC issued an advertisement for recruitment of college teachers in 2020, the panel for which was published this year.

However, one candidate, Monalisa Ghosh, challenged that panel in Justice Gangopadhyay’s bench on grounds of transparency.

She claimed that although the panel list had the names and registration numbers of the candidates, it did not mention the marks scored by them.

The petitioner claimed that the commission should have disclosed the marks of the candidates for the sake of transparency. Last week, Justice Gangopadhyay’s bench directed the WBCSC to file an affidavit on this count within ten days.

However, before the deadline on this count approached, the commission on Wednesday went to the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Uday Kumar challenging the single- judge bench order. The hearing in the matter has been scheduled on October 13.

To recall, during the hearing at his bench Justice Gangopadhyay also raised the question on why the commission refrained from disclosing the marks of the candidates. He also expressed surprise that there was no specific definition of “panel" in the commission’s rules. The commission then replied that the panels were prepared based on the marks secured in recruitment examinations as well as on the contents of the research papers of the candidates.