NEW DELHI: As many as 700 under-graduate teachers from Tripura have approached the Supreme Court challenging their "unlawful and unconstitutional" termination in 2017 and 2020 by the State.
The petition has been drawn by Advocates Amrit Lal Saha, Tarini Kamakhya Nayak and Aaditya Mishra and filed through AOR Biraja Kanta Mahapatra before the apex court.
Nayak told The New Indian Express that the around 700 under-graduate teachers from Tripura moved the apex court after the Tripura High Court dismissed their pleas in 2014. "There is no better alternative in front of them but to knock at the doors of the apex court. They need a SC direction to get back their jobs and thereby save themselves and their families," Nayak said.
"There is a grim situation among the family members of these teachers who are battling with daily expenses and other difficulties. More than 160 teachers who were terminated have died, many of them resorting to suicide, due to lack of facilities for basic sustenance," the plea said.
The Tripura HC had in its verdict declared that certain Employment Policy, 2003 issued by the State Government, “bad in law” and set-aside appointment of more than 10,000 teachers allegedly made thereunder, pursuant to which the Petitioners were also terminated, Nayak said.
Out of 700, the lead petitioners before the top court are Subhash Sinha and Mased Miah.
The petitioners have questioned the applicability of the said policy and pleaded that they were appointed in strict adherence of the recruitment rules for the posts. "There is no illegality done by the Petitioners," Nayak submitted.
Expressing "shock" at the HC judgment, Nayak sought appropriate directions or orders from the SC for restoring the appointment of the teachers as soon as possible.
The petitioners claimed that a massive scam has been perpetrated by the State Government wherein the employment and salary codes of all the terminated teachers have still been kept “active" and therefore, the monthly remuneration of such teachers is being debited to the state-exchequer and misappropriated by certain corrupt officials / bureaucrats.
The petitioners said that such "fraud-angle" is now being investigated by the Principal Accountant General (Additional) Tripura.
Pointing out that as the schools in Tripura were facing acute shortage of teachers, the petition highlighted as to why the innocent students would face the difficulty in getting their education in these kind hard conditions, it said.