West Bengal Primary Teachers' Recruitment Case: HC's New Division Bench to Hear on April 28
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Synopsis
The Calcutta High Court will hold its first hearing regarding the irregularities in primary teachers' appointments by the WBBPE on April 28, impacting around 32,000 teachers' jobs in state-run schools.
Key Takeaways
- The first hearing will occur on April 28.
- The case concerns appointments impacting 32,000 teachers.
- Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty will lead the hearing.
- Previous cancellations were made by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
- The Supreme Court recently upheld cancellations by WBSSC.
Kolkata, April 21 (NationPress) The initial hearing regarding the irregularities in the appointment of primary teachers by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) is set to take place on April 28 before a newly constituted division bench of the Calcutta High Court.
This case was previously under review by a division bench including Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das, with the last hearing date being April 7. The session did not proceed as Justice Sen recused himself from the case due to personal reasons.
Subsequently, the case was returned to the office of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, leading to its reassignment to the division bench led by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty.
According to the Calcutta High Court's roster, the first hearing under Justice Chakraborty is scheduled for April 28.
The outcome of this case significantly impacts approximately 32,000 primary teachers appointed by the WBBPE, who are employed in various state-operated schools across West Bengal.
In May 2023, a prior single-judge bench, led by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, now a BJP Lok Sabha member, ruled to annul the jobs of these 32,000 primary teachers.
This decision was based on petitions from several disadvantaged candidates, who claimed that many had received recommendations for appointments despite achieving lower ranks in the recruitment exams.
The state government contested this ruling at the division bench, prompting a referral to Justice Sen's bench. Following Justice Sen's recusal, the case is now with Justice Chakraborty.
This matter regarding the irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in state-run schools is critical for the state government, as the number of affected individuals far exceeds that of the second and higher teachers, along with the non-teaching staff in Group C and Group D appointed by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), whose appointments were annulled by a Supreme Court division bench earlier this month.
Earlier this month, the division bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, upheld a previous ruling made by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench consisting of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi to cancel 25,753 appointments made by the WBSSC.
The apex court's bench also endorsed the Calcutta High Court's earlier finding that the entire panel needed to be annulled due to the government's and the commission's inability to differentiate between the “genuine” candidates and the “tainted” ones.
