WBSSC job case: Calcutta HC bars coercive police action against protesting teachers

Kolkata, May 23 A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, barred the Bidhannagar Police from taking any coercive action, including arrest, against “untainted” or “genuine” teachers who have been named in FIRs for protesting in front of the state education department headquarters.

The teachers have been protesting after losing their jobs following a Supreme Court order last month.

These teachers, both in secondary and higher secondary sections, have been protesting in front of the state education department headquarters, demanding immediate publication of the list segregating the “untainted” candidates from the “tainted” ones who got school jobs after paying money.

On May 15, the situation turned tense after a group of protesting teachers broke open the lock of the main gate of Bikas Bhavan, the state education department headquarters at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, and went inside the complex. On the same night, there were cane-charges by the police on the protesting teachers, following which several protesters received severe injuries.

A case was filed at the Calcutta High Court accusing the police of excesses. And, meanwhile, the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate registered FIRs against some protesting teachers, accusing them of destruction of public property, forceful detention of the state government employees within the office and deterring state government employees from performing their duties.

At the same time, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) started issuing show-cause notices to some of these protesting teachers.

After a few hearings, finally, on Friday, the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh barred the police from taking any coercive action, including arrest, against the teachers named in the FIRs, till further orders.

The single-judge bench also ruled that the show-cause notice issued by the WBBSE to some of these protesting teachers would also not be effective till further orders. However, Justice Ghosh ruled that the investigation into the matter will continue as usual.

At the same time, Justice Ghosh also directed the protesting teachers to shift the venue of their sit-in demonstration from Bikas Bhavan to a nearby place adjacent to a swimming pool. The court also directed the administration to arrange tents, bio-toilets and drinking water for the protesting teachers.

Justice Ghosh also ruled that at a time, not more than 200 protesters will be allowed to assemble at the new venue of the sit-in demonstration.

On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s division bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted" candidates from the "tainted" ones.

The state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) had already filed review petitions at the apex court on this issue.

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