The Calcutta High Court has stayed the cancellation of 313 teaching appointments in schools run by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. The interim relief was granted on Wednesday by a division bench for a period of 12 weeks.
Earlier, on December 17, a single-judge bench of Justice Biswajit Basu had cancelled the appointments. The court held that the teachers were recruited illegally in GTA-run schools across Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong.
Challenging that decision, the GTA moved the division bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury. The matter was heard at the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench.
While granting the stay, the division bench noted that the single-judge order did not adequately consider key circumstances. The court observed that many teachers had served for long periods. It also noted that regular recruitment remained stalled for years due to prolonged political unrest in the hill regions.
The case stems from allegations that appointments were made without official notifications and outside established recruitment procedures. Earlier, the single-judge bench had ordered a CBI investigation into the matter.
That probe order was later modified after the Supreme Court ruled that the state CID would conduct the investigation instead. The main case on alleged irregular appointments remains pending before the High Court.
