Calcutta HC Upholds 32,000 Bengal Teachers' Appointments Amid Corruption Allegations

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A significant decision has been made by the Calcutta High Court, setting aside a 2023 order that scrapped the appointments of around 32,000 primary school teachers in West Bengal. The court's two-judge bench, comprising justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetabrata Kumar Mitra, ruled that termination of services cannot be based solely on ongoing criminal proceedings. The bench emphasized that irregularities were not proven in all the recruitments and that a court should not indulge in a 'roving inquiry' to rule out all explanations. The decision is a major blow to the state government's efforts to cancel the appointments, which were made in 2014 after a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The case is one of at least 40 involving recruitment of state government teachers and non-teaching school staff in West Bengal embroiled in corruption. In 2023, the Supreme Court cancelled the appointments of around 26,000 secondary and higher secondary teachers and non-teaching staff due to allegations of corruption. The 32,000 primary school appointees were among over one million candidates who appeared for the TET in 2014. A section of those who did not pass the test moved a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May 2023. The state government challenged the order before a division bench, which upheld it. The state subsequently moved the Supreme Court, which in 2023 ordered a stay and referred the matter back to the high court. The division bench made critical observations on the order passed by then justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who resigned from service in March 2024 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party two days later. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the order, saying that jobs cannot be scrapped at random. The Trinamool Congress and the Congress targeted Gangopadhyay, saying that his motives were purely political. The BJP, however, backed Gangopadhyay, with leader Suvendu Adhikari describing the judgment as 'humanitarian' and 'not fact-based.' The case has led to the arrest of at least 20 TMC leaders and their relatives and senior government officials by CBI and ED. The accused include Sujaykrishna Bhadra, who was questioned by both ED and the CBI before his arrest. The charges range from accepting money from job-seekers to twisting recruitment rules and document tampering.