A protesting teacher said the police administration has been notified of their change in venue. File Photo
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Calcutta High Court on Friday (May 23, 2025) directed the police to not take any coercive action against the protesting teachers accused of violence, and directed the teachers to shift the protest site from outside the State Education Department headquarters.

The Single Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh heard the petitions from the ‘Jogya Sikkhok-Sikkhika Adhikar Mancha (2016 SLST)’, also known as the Deserving Teachers’ Rights Forum (DTRF). The court passed several orders regarding their ongoing protest, considering the recent incidents that had unfolded around the protest site outside the Education Department headquarters at Bikash Bhawan.

Protests erupted across the State after the Supreme Court on April 3 upheld the Calcutta High Court’s 2024 order cancelling approximately 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff appointments over ‘irregularities’ in the 2016 recruitment by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

On May 15, a clash between the protesting teachers and the police outside Bikash Bhawan turned violent, with several on both sides sustaining injuries. An FIR naming several protestors was lodged by the Bidhannagar North police station.

While no one showed up after the police summons initially, a few days later, at the direction of the court, three DTRF leaders, accompanied by their legal counsel, met the Investigating Officer. “I direct the police authorities to go slow in respect of all the accused persons, including the present petitioners. If any individual is called in connection with the case, he would cooperate with the investigation. However, the police authorities will not take any coercive steps against any accused, including the petitioners, till further orders,” the Calcutta High Court’s order read.

The court added that if the teachers intend to continue their agitation, they should do so at a different venue. “… on a rotational basis, 200 members at a time would be present at the place of agitation. In case, there are other sympathisers approaching the agitators the same would be communicated to the police authorities,” the court said.

A senior leader of the protesting teachers, Brindaban Ghosh, said the police administration has been notified of their change in venue. The court also directed the State to ‘treat the petitioners/agitators with a human face’ and to arrange for a temporary structure for protestors so they do not fall ill in the scorching summer heat.

‘Tainted teachers’ plea’

In related developments on Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition of “tainted” teachers seeking the option to appear in the upcoming fresh recruitment process.