In an extraordinary move that underscores the depth of their despair, 350 out of 10,323 terminated teachers from Tripura have written directly to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant placing their plight before the highest judicial authority of the country.
The teachers, appointed in 2010 through duly issued advertisements and later regularised by the state in 2015, in their letter to the CJI alleged that they have been arbitrarily thrown out of service without being heard, despite serving the education system for over a decade.
In their letter -- a copy of which was accessed by TNIE -- the teachers described a prolonged legal nightmare spanning more than ten years, arising from litigation initiated by unselected candidates before the High Court of Tripura, wherein the HC had declared the Employment Policy, 2003 as ‘bad-in-law’. Though never parties to those proceedings, they claim they have suffered mass terminations in 2017 and again in 2020, resulting in complete loss of livelihood.
Appealing directly to the Chief Justice of India, the teachers said they still believe in the Constitution and seek nothing more than fairness, dignity, and lawful treatment. Given that the matter is listed on January 16, the teachers have sought the urgent intervention of the CJI.
A central claim in the letter is that the Employment Policy, 2003 — the very basis of their termination — never legally existed. According to the teachers, the policy was never notified, never published in the Official Gazette, never approved by the Cabinet, and never referenced in any recruitment advertisement. They assert that even the High Court had acknowledged that the policy was only a draft memorandum, yet it became the foundation for their dismissal for no rhyme or reason.
The teachers further argued that their regularisation in 2015, after the relevant court judgment, itself proves that their appointments were legal. “Illegal appointments cannot be regularised,” the letter notes, accusing the state of taking contradictory stands.
In addition, they raised grave concerns of institutional fairness, pointing to alleged conflicts of interest involving lawyers who appeared against the selected teachers and later occupied powerful judicial or constitutional positions. The letter says these circumstances have created a “reasonable apprehension of bias.”
They also alleged selective and discriminatory enforcement, claiming that some teachers whose appointments were actually challenged continue in service, while others like them were terminated. "The human cost is devastating," they said, claiming that over 250 of their colleagues have died, some by suicide and others due to poverty and lack of medical care.