Previously, the Supreme Court had scheduled the pleas for hearing on September 10 and provided the parties with a final deadline of August 16 to submit their responses. The bench, which includes Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, instructed the nodal counsel—Astha Sharma for the state government, along with Shalini Kaul, Partha Chatterjee, and Shekhar Kumar—to compile a common electronic record of the case, ensuring that all cited judgments were included in a unified PDF document.

The court is reviewing 33 petitions related to the Calcutta High Court's April 22 ruling on the issue. Among these is the West Bengal government's challenge to the order. On May 7, the Supreme Court had provided significant relief to the affected teachers and non-teaching staff, whose appointments had been invalidated by the high court due to alleged irregularities in the appointment process. However, it allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue its probe, including the possibility of investigating state Cabinet members if necessary, while instructing the CBI to avoid any immediate actions such as arrests.

The court clarified that if the recruitment was found to be illegal, the teachers and non-teaching staff would be required to repay their salaries and other benefits. It also emphasized the need to determine if it is possible to segregate tainted appointments from the rest, suggesting that invalidating the entire process might be inappropriate. The Supreme Court described the alleged recruitment scam as a "systemic fraud" and stressed that state authorities must maintain digitized records for the 25,753 appointments in question.

"Public jobs are so scarce ... Nothing remains if the faith of the public goes. This is systemic fraud. Public jobs are extremely scarce today & are looked at for social mobility. What remains in the system if their appointments are also maligned? People will lose faith, how do you countenance this?" the CJI had asked the lawyers representing the state government.

In addition to canceling the appointments, the high court had directed the CBI to investigate the appointment process and submit a report within three months.

The State Level Selection Test (SLST)-2016 had over 23 lakh candidates competing for 24,640 vacancies. However, 25,753 appointment letters were issued, surpassing the number of available positions. 

The high court also mandated that individuals appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, those appointed after the official recruitment deadline, and those who submitted blank OMR sheets but still obtained appointments, must return all salaries and benefits received, along with 12 percent annual interest, within four weeks.