Teachers' scam: Calcutta High Court directs termination of 59 more primary teachers

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered the termination of services of 59 primary teachers in different state-run schools in West Bengal on charges of procuring jobs illegally adopting unfair means or against some consideration.

This is the third termination of services ordered by the single-judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay so far, taking the total number of candidates facing termination of service to 255 so far.

On Wednesday only, Justice Gangopadhyay ordered termination of services for 143 primary teachers. On December 23, termination of services of 53 primary teachers were ordered by the same bench.

Earlier last year, Justice Gangopadhyay had ordered termination of services of 269 primary teachers on the same grounds. However, these teachers approached the Supreme Court claiming that the order was given without hearing them.

The apex court then directed the same single-judge bench to hear the arguments of these 269 primary teachers. It also directed these teachers to file affidavits on this count.

On Thursday, a total of 61 such primary teachers filed their affidavits in the matter at the court. After a review of their affidavits and other related documents, Justice Gangopadhyay ordered termination of services for 59 teachers among them. He also ordered the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to immediately stop payments of salaries.

The hearing for the remaining two primary teachers will be heard on a future date.