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Calcutta HC sets aside order scrapping Bengal teachers’ appointment
A two-judge bench of the Calcutta high court on Wednesday set aside a 2023 order by a single-judge bench
A two-judge bench of the Calcutta high court on Wednesday set aside a 2023 order by a single-judge bench scrapping the appointment of around 32,000 primary school teachers over allegations of corruption in the state’s recruitment process, marking a significant decision on an emotive issue just months before crucial assembly polls.
The bench, comprising justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetabrata Kumar Mitra, said it is not inclined to uphold the single bench order as irregularities were not proven in all the recruitments, and that termination of services cannot be based only on an ongoing criminal proceeding.
“A 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,” said the bench.
“There is no allegation that students who paid money got more marks. A group of unsuccessful candidates should not be allowed to affect 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,” added the bench.
This is one of at least 40 cases involving recruitment of state government teachers and non-teaching school staff in West Bengal embroiled in corruption. One of the major cases involves around 26,000 secondary and higher secondary teachers and non-teaching staff, whose appointments were cancelled by the Supreme Court in April.
The second involves the primary school teachers, whose recruitment was cancelled in 2023 by then judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, now a Bharatiya Janata Party MP. Both cases are connected to the tainted 2016 recruitment panel, which is facing allegations of recruiting people who failed the selected tests but paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh.
These 32,000 primary school appointees were among around one million candidates who appeared for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in 2014. A section of those who did not pass the test moved then justice Gangopadhyay’s bench alleging systemic corruption. The judge ordered 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 Ganopadhyay, who resigned from service in March 2024 and joined the BJP two days later, prompting chief minister Mamata Banerjee to question the credibility of the judgments he had passed.
“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,” the court said.
The written copy of the order was not immediately available.
“The judgement has proved that truth always prevails. We are all happy today,” Suman Pal, one of the primary teachers, said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, against whom the BJP has used the bribe-for-job allegation as an issue in the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls, welcomed the order.
“We respect the justiciary. The teachers got justice today. Jobs cannot be scrapped at random,” Banerjee said while touring Malda district.
The Trinamool Congress and the Congress targeted Gangopadhyay.
“The observations of the division bench makes it clear that Gangopadhyay was a villain in the garb of a hero. His motives were purely political,” state education minister Bratya Basu said.
Gangopadhya, who was in Delhi to attend the Parliament’s winter session, told the media that the division bench has the right to set aside his judgement.
“As a judge I did what I thought was right. The division bench has the right to pass judgements. There can always be differences (in opinion). I cannot say much more before seeing the reasons cited by the division bench for setting aside my order,” he said.
The BJP, however, backed Gangopadhyay.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the Bengal legislative assembly described Wednesday’s judgement as “humanitarian” and “not fact based.”
“We have utmost respect for the judiciary but I stand by the then justice Gangopadhyay’s order. He based it on facts and the findings of the probe agency. The division bench today passed its order on humanitarian grounds. I have full sympathy for these teachers but I don’t know if courts can pass orders on humanitarian grounds,” Adhikari said.
In May 2022, Gangopadhyay, as a judge, ordered CBI to probe the appointment of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021 when TMC’s Partha Chatterjee was the education minister. The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which started a parallel probe, arrested Chatterjee in July 2022. He was suspended from the TMC and removed from the government. In its first charge sheet filed on September 19, 2022, ED said it traced cash, jewellery and immovable property worth ₹103.10 crore allegedly linked to Chatterjee who was released on bail on November 11 this year.
At least 52 people face charges in the teacher and school staff recruitment case.
At least 20 TMC leaders and their relatives and senior government officials have been arrested by CBI and ED in this case since 2022. They include Chatterjee’s son-in-law Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, ex-minister Paresh Adhikari and his daughter Ankita, ex-state primary education board president and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya, MLA Jiban Krishna Saha.
The accused include Sujaykrishna Bhadra against whom ED filed chargesheet in July 2023. Bhadra, who was questioned by both ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before his arrest, told the media in March 2023 that he worked for TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s company.
Abhishek Banerjee and his wife were questioned by CBI and ED but no chargesheet has been filed against them till now.
The charges range from accepting money from job-seekers to twisting recruitment rules and document tampering.
