West Bengal Teachers Protest: Police Violence Sparks Legal Action

In Kolkata, teachers from state-run schools are protesting job losses linked to a Supreme Court ruling on a cash-for-job scandal. The protests turned violent as police intervened, leading to injuries among demonstrators. A lawyer has sought the Calcutta High Court's intervention, claiming police brutality against peaceful protesters. The teachers, organized under a rights forum, demand transparency from the state government regarding job candidates. They allege that the government is protecting those involved in the scandal. As tensions escalate, legal actions are being initiated against both the police and the protesting teachers.

By Narendra Chaudhary May 16, 2025, 13:00 IST

Protests Erupt Over Job Losses in West Bengal

Kolkata: On Friday, a lawyer from the Calcutta High Court requested the court's immediate involvement regarding the 'unprovoked' and 'brutal' police action against teachers protesting at the West Bengal education department's headquarters.

Teachers from state-run secondary and higher secondary schools, who lost their jobs due to a recent Supreme Court ruling related to a cash-for-job scandal, had gathered to protest outside the education department, effectively surrounding it on Thursday.

Advocate Rajnil Mukhopadhyay approached Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, alleging that the Bidhannagar Police used excessive force against the teachers who were merely exercising their democratic rights to protest against perceived injustices by the state government.

Reports indicate that several teachers sustained serious injuries during the police crackdown late Thursday night around 10 p.m.

In response, the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate has initiated a suo motu case against the protesting teachers, accusing them of vandalizing public property, hindering government officials in their duties, and assaulting police officers.

However, the teachers, organized under the 'Jogyo Shikhok-Shikkika Adhikar Mancha (Genuine Teachers’ Rights Forum)', have strongly refuted these allegations.

"Our demonstration was peaceful, and there was no destruction of property by any protester. The police are misrepresenting the situation with misleading images. Their attempts to intimidate us will not succeed; we will persist in our protests until our demands are met," stated a representative from the forum.

The teachers are demanding that the state government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) promptly release lists distinguishing 'genuine' candidates from those deemed 'tainted' who allegedly paid for their positions.

They further claim that the state government and WBSSC are intentionally withholding these lists to shield the 'tainted' candidates.

On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld a prior ruling from the Calcutta High Court that annulled 25,753 school appointments in West Bengal.

The apex court concurred with the Calcutta High Court's assessment that the entire panel of candidates had to be invalidated due to the government's failure to differentiate between 'untainted' and 'tainted' candidates.

Both the state government and WBSSC have filed petitions for review on this matter.