High Court upholds termination of 10,323 teachers, imposes fine

By  Firstdespatch Desk   Sep 26, 2023

Agartala, Sept 26 (FD) In a significant verdict, the full bench of the High Court of Tripura has dismissed the plea of a retrenched teacher, Pranab Deb, challenging the mass termination of 10,323 teachers by the state government. The teachers were dismissed in violation of Article 311(II) of the Constitution and Order 1 Rule 8. The full bench, consisting of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Sinha, Justice T. Amarnath Gour, and Justice Arindam Lodh, ruled against Pranab Deb's petition and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

Advocate Amrit Lal Saha, representing Pranab Deb, argued that the termination was illegal as individual termination notices were not served. However, Advocate General Siddhartha Sankar De Cited Supreme Court judgements, including the Tanmay Nath case, which deemed newspaper notifications as valid means of communication.

The High Court observed that multiple similar petitions had been filed despite clear orders regarding the terminations and found no reason to treat Pranab Deb's case differently. The bench noted a pattern of terminated teachers repeatedly approaching the courts despite clear orders regarding their termination.

Chief Justice A.K. Singh emphasised that the teachers' jobs were terminated due to flaws in the selection process, not personal wrongdoing. The court also highlighted the timely notifications in the media and the petitioner's failure to distinguish his case from the Tanmay Nath proceedings. FD SB JK