HC restores 32,000 teacher jobs, overturns cancellation order

A division Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday set aside a single Bench order of the court, which cancelled the appointment of about 32,000 primary teachers in the cash-for-jobs TET-recruitment scam case and ordered continuation of services.

The double Bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra passed the order setting aside the 12 May, 2023, single-judge Bench order of then judge of Calcutta High Court, and the current BJP Lok Sabha member Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered the cancellation of 32,000 primary teacher jobs in the state.

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Gangopadhyay passed the order acting on petitions filed by some candidates alleging that many secured recommendations for appointments despite ranking much lower in the recruitment examinations.

The state government challenged that order at the division Bench, and the matter was referred to the Bench headed by Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das De. However, Justice Sen recused from hearing, and the case was referred to the double Bench of Justice Tapobrata Chakraborty and Ritobrata Kumar Mitra.

Advocate Ashish Kumar Chowdhury said the double Bench ordered the continuation of the services of the 32,000 primary teachers with a note that if the jobs of the teachers were discontinued after nine years for some people’s mistakes, then it would affect the teachers and their family members.

Justice Gangopadhyay’s initial decision had then been challenged before a division Bench led by current Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice, Justice Soumen Sen. However, due to personal reasons, Justice Sen recused from hearing the matter, and the same was placed before the present Bench of Tapobrata Chakraborty and Reetabroto Kumar Mitra.

The controversy began in 2014, when, based on the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), 42,500 primary teachers were recruited. Some candidates appearing for the TET filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court alleging massive irregularities in the recruitment process involving payment of cash for securing jobs.

Accordingly, the present division Bench, which commenced its hearing in April 2025 and ended on November 12 last, for which the verdict was delivered today.