Kolkata: A major relief for teachers in West Bengal: the Calcutta High Court (Division Bench) on 3 December 2025 set aside a 2023 order that had cancelled the appointments of around 32,000 primary school teachers recruited through the 2014 Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET).
The earlier single-bench order — passed by former Judge Abhijit Ganguly (now a BJP MP) — invalidated these appointments on grounds of alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.
However, the division bench, led by Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetabrata Mitra, observed that irregularities were not proven in every case, and that canceling the entire batch would cause undue hardship to those teachers who have served for years.
The court recognised that termination of jobs after nearly a decade would have a severe impact on teachers and their families. It emphasised that while a small number of appointments showed issues (CBI had reportedly flagged 264 cases of alleged misconduct and 96 additional suspected cases), that did not justify nullifying all 32,000 jobs.
The latest verdict comes as a major boost for the affected teachers, hundreds of whom had already lost jobs and savings, and faced social stigma. Student-teacher ratios and primary education infrastructure are also likely to stabilise as the schools may retain their staff.
With this decision, the Calcutta High Court has effectively nullified the 2023 single-bench ruling, allowing nearly 31,640 teachers (after excluding the few irregular cases) to resume service, end their job uncertainty, and retain their livelihoods.