In a major relief for thousands of primary school teachers in West Bengal, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday set aside the single bench order that had annulled the appointments of 32,000 teachers recruited through the 2016 Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET).
The bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetabrata Kumar Mitra observed that “a group of unsuccessful candidates should not be allowed to damage the entire system”, underscoring that irregularities had not been proven across all recruitments.
The court held that cancelling the services of teachers nearly a decade after their recruitment would carry deep social and financial consequences. The judges ruled that “innocent teachers would also suffer great ignominy and stigma” if the entire selection list were scrapped.
Importantly, the bench noted that employment cannot be terminated solely on the basis of an ongoing criminal proceeding, particularly when evidence is limited to a small cluster of candidates.
Teachers Celebrate “Triumph of Truth” After Years of Uncertainty
The verdict has brought widespread relief to the in-service teachers who had feared job loss, especially after the Supreme Court earlier terminated the appointments of nearly 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in the SLST 2016 case.
Calling the judgment a “triumph of truth”, the teachers said the court had “removed the taint that was smeared on them for the past two-and-a-half years” and had allowed them to continue “with their head held high.”
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The ruling comes just months before the upcoming state elections and is expected to be a significant political lift for the TMC-led West Bengal government.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the verdict as a “humanitarian relief” for thousands of families.
State education minister Bratya Basu echoed this sentiment, saying: “The verdict has proved that our chief minister has always stood by our teachers and will continue doing so.”
He added that the education board had been “plagued by motivated campaigns” but expressed hope that “as the clock is showing signs of turning full cycle… we will face the next assembly polls with our heads held high.”
Aggrieved Candidates Plan to Approach Supreme Court
A section of the petitioners who had challenged the TET 2016 recruitment said they intend to move the Supreme Court against the division bench’s decision. BJP spokesperson and counsel Tarunjyoti Tewari posted on X that “corruption has been given institutional legitimacy” and that the verdict had created “fresh questions in the minds of Bengal’s unemployed youth.”
The high court examined the findings of the CBI, which had been tasked with investigating the matter. According to the bench:
- The CBI initially identified 264 appointments involving an additional mark allegedly granted irregularly.
- The agency found no evidence that these marks were allotted under outside influence.
- Another 96 teachers later reinstated by a Supreme Court order had also come under scrutiny.
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The court concluded that this evidence was insufficient to cancel the entire selection process, stressing that irregularities were isolated, not systemic.
Background: The 2023 Single Bench Order
The case originated with a single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who had terminated all 32,000 appointments in May 2023 following petitions alleging recruitment fraud, including claims that some candidates were hired without mandatory aptitude tests.
The division bench has now held that the CBI’s findings do not support such sweeping action.
