Bengal primary teachers' recruitment case: Argument concludes at Calcutta HC, judgment reserved

Kolkata, Nov 12 (IANS) The six-month-long argument in the case on irregularities in the recruitment of 32,000 primary teachers in state-run schools in West Bengal concluded at a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday.

However, the division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Ritabrata Kumar Mitra reserved the judgment in the matter and also did not specify any date by which that would be pronounced.

The hearing in the matter at the division bench of the Calcutta High Court started on April 28, 2025.

On Wednesday, the state government counsel, in his closing statements, argued that the petitioners in the case alleging irregularities in the appointment of 32,000 primary teachers could not provide sufficient documentary evidence in support of their claims, and hence, there was no ground in their allegations.

However, the CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and the counsel for the petitioners, Bikas Ranjan Bhattacvharya, argued in his closing statement that this was a typical case of institutional corruption, where all prescribed norms relating to teachers’ appointments were violated.

To recall, in May 2023, the single-judge bench of the 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.

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 than many of the deprived candidates.

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 recently recused from hearing in the matter, following which the case was referred for hearing to the bench of Justice Chakraborty and Justice Mitra.

--IANS

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