Kolkata, Dec 3 (IANS) A division bench of the Calcutta High Court will on Wednesday pronounce its judgement in the case on irregularities in the recruitment of 32,000 primary teachers in state-run schools in West Bengal.

The six-month-long argument in the case ended at the division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Ritabrata Kumar Mitra on November 12. However, the division bench reserved the judgement on that day.

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

To recall, on May 12, 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.

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.

Based on the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), a total of 42,500 primary teachers were recruited in 2014. 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.

A prolonged hearing at the single-judge bench of the then Justice Gangopadhyay, on May 12, 2023, cancelled the appointments of 32,000 primary teachers.

Now, it is to be seen whether the division bench of Justice Chakraborty and Justice Mitra upholds the order of the single-judge bench or pronounces a different judgement.

In case the division bench upholds the single-judge bench order, this would be the second blow for the West Bengal government in the school job front in the same year.

Earlier in April this year, a division bench of the Supreme Court had upheld an order by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court’s division bench cancelling West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC)’s entire 2016 panel for around 26,000 school jobs, including second and higher secondary teachers as well as non-teaching staff in Group-C and Group-D categories in different state run schools.

–IANS

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