The Calcutta High Court has overturned the single-judge order that had invalidated the appointments of nearly 32,000 primary school teachers in West Bengal, offering long-awaited relief to thousands whose service had been thrown into uncertainty. A Division Bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra held that the sweeping cancellation of appointments could not be justified when the alleged irregularities related only to a limited segment of the recruitment process and not to the entire batch of candidates.
The dispute traces back to the Teacher Eligibility Test conducted between 2014 and 2016 by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education. After allegations emerged that certain candidates had obtained appointments through procedural lapses and corrupt practices, multiple petitions were filed demanding a thorough scrutiny of the entire selection. Acting on these concerns, a single-judge bench had in May 2023 cancelled the entire group of nearly 32,000 appointments, concluding that the recruitment exercise had been tainted to such an extent that the whole process needed to be scrapped.
When the matter came before the Division Bench, the judges undertook a detailed examination of the records and found that there was no material demonstrating that all 32,000 appointments suffered from illegality. They observed that investigations had revealed discrepancies in only a small fraction of cases, and that such limited irregularities did not justify nullifying the entire cohort. The Bench noted that thousands of teachers had already been in service for several years, many of whom were trained, experienced, and had no involvement whatsoever in the alleged wrongdoing. Stripping them of their positions would amount to an extreme and disproportionate measure with severe personal and professional consequences.
The Court further remarked that terminating such a large number of teachers would destabilise the state’s primary education system and disrupt the functioning of schools across West Bengal. It reiterated that judicial orders affecting livelihoods must be rooted in clear, specific evidence rather than broad assumptions of widespread illegality. The Division Bench therefore set aside the cancellation order, holding that individual cases where evidence of malpractice exists may be examined separately, but the entire group cannot be punished for the alleged misconduct of a few.
The matter has been referred to the Chief Justice for reassignment to an appropriate bench for any further necessary proceedings. With this ruling, the appointments of nearly 32,000 teachers stand restored, bringing significant relief to the teachers, their families, and the state’s education machinery as a whole.
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