The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday quashed an earlier order that had cancelled the appointments of 32,000 primary school teachers. These teachers were recruited through the 2014 Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and had been implicated in a wider ‘cash-for-jobs’ scam investigation. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the High Court’s latest verdict.
Court’s Decision
A division bench, comprising Justices Tapobrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, set aside the single bench order. The court stated it found no conclusive proof of “systematic irregularities in all recruitments.”
The bench also highlighted the severe impact dismissal would have on these primary school teachers and their families after nine years of service. The decision reverses a 2023 ruling that had cancelled the appointments.
Background of the Appointments
Following the 2014 Teacher Eligibility Test, the West Bengal government appointed a total of 42,500 primary school teachers. In 2023 , Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, then heading a single bench of the Calcutta High Court, cancelled the appointments of 32,000 of these teachers. He cited irregularities found within their recruitment process.
Justice Gangopadhyay, who has since retired and joined a political party, had directed the West Bengal government to initiate and complete a new recruitment process within three months.
Legal Journey Through Courts
Following Justice Gangopadhyay’s cancellation order, a different division bench, then led by Justices Subrata Talukdar and Supratim Bhattacharya, issued an interim stay. This stay paused the cancellation of the 32,000 appointments and gave the state government six months to form a fresh panel for recruitment.
The West Bengal government subsequently appealed this interim order to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the stay on the 32,000 appointments. It then referred the case back to the Calcutta High Court for a definitive final decision.
The current division bench, led by Justices Tapobrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, concluded its hearing of the case on November 12 , leading to Wednesday’s decision.
Chief Minister Welcomes Verdict
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her satisfaction with the High Court’s ruling. Speaking to reporters, she stated, “We are happy with the court’s order. It is a great relief that these teachers’ jobs have been saved.”
Banerjee further added, “We want to create jobs, not take them away.”
Related Recruitment Scandals
This case is one of several recruitment-related investigations in West Bengal. In a separate development, the Supreme Court recently invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in government-run schools across Bengal. These appointments, for classes 9 to 12, were made following the State Level Selection Test conducted by the School Service Commission. The issues cited in that case also involved alleged irregularities in the selection process.