Calcutta High Court Nullifies Termination of 32,000 Primary Teachers

A division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra overruled the order that was passed by Mr Gangopadhyay as a judge while hearing the case in 2023, a year before quitting his job and contesting the Lok Sabha Election.

The division bench stated, "There must have been a possibility of systemic malice, assessment of data doesn't point to the same…A group of unsuccessful candidates cannot be allowed to damage the entire system when it cannot be ruled out that untainted teachers may suffer great ignominy and stigma. Service cannot also be terminated on the basis of an ongoing criminal proceeding. A job taken away after 9 years of service would cause insurmountable difficulty."

Referring to the single bench’s role at that time, the two judges observed, "Court is not expected to indulge in roving inquiry, to rule out all explanations. There is a difference between a proven case of mass cheating and unproven charges of corruption. When services are terminated on grounds of aiding corruption, the court must satisfy itself of its stand.”

According to the bench, "...the court went beyond the pleadings and cancelled the appointments based on the fact that no aptitude test was held. For cancellation of the entire exam, there must be a finding on systemic malice as borne out by the evidence on record. That is not the case. Even no complaint exists regarding the effectiveness of the candidates who were appointed as teachers…There is no allegation that students who paid money got more marks…”

The job losers, who were recruited in a panel of 42,500 successful candidates

based on the TET conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education in 2014, wholeheartedly welcomed the new order. Many of them, who gathered at the HC, broke down in joy. They alleged that the previous order was politically motivated, leaving them tainted.

Trinamul Congress supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee also heaved a sigh of relief over the verdict. She said at Berhampore in Murshidabad, “Judiciary acts on its own. We respect the judiciary. I'm happy to have protected the jobs of my brothers and sisters.”