The Tripura High Court has rejected a plea challenging the collective termination of 10,323 teachers from their positions in 2014.
A full bench of the high court, which was hearing the case also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner for what it considered a waste of its time. Notably, the hearing was live-streamed for the first time.
The petitioner, one of the affected teachers who lost their jobs asserted that the termination through a memorandum was illegal due to the absence of individual notices served to him. However, Advocate General SS Dey countered this claim in court, explaining that it was not the state government that had dismissed the 10,323 teachers, but rather they had lost their jobs as a result of a Supreme Court order.
Dey stated, “Even after the final verdict from the apex court, the state government managed to extend their service for one year. The state government did not dismiss the teachers; instead, it merely communicated the apex court’s verdict to them through a memorandum, which was also published in the media.”
Following a thorough examination of both sides’ arguments, the full bench ultimately dismissed the petitioner’s plea and imposed the specified fine. Dey later informed reporters that the court did not accept the petitioner’s contention that he was not part of the original case that led to the mass termination of teachers.
“In 2014, the high court had scrutinized the recruitment policy implemented by the erstwhile Left Front government, resulting in the mass termination of teachers hired under that policy. It is evident that the petitioner, who secured employment under that recruitment policy, was indeed a part of it,” he affirmed.
