West Bengal: Primary teachers demand right to agitate; HC to hear petition on Nov 1

The Calcutta High Court postponed the hearing on a petition seeking permission to continue the agitation in front of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) office in Salt Lake until November 1.

Hearing a petition filed by candidates denied primary teacher positions, a vacation bench of Justices Amrita Sinha and Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee stated that the matter will be heard by a regular bench of the court only on Tuesday (November 1).

On the late night of October 20 (technically October 21), protesters agitating in front of the WBBPE office against alleged irregularities in primary teacher recruitment in the state were removed, eliciting massive protests from all sections of society and opposition political parties in the state.

The police removed them armed with an earlier order from the Calcutta High Court mandating that Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 be kept in front of the WBBPE office.

At the same time, the agitators petitioned the Calcutta High Court for permission to continue their agitation in front of the WBBPE office, with a hearing scheduled for Friday.

The petitioners' counsels, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Priyanka Tibrewal, requested that the case be heard on a fast-track basis by the division bench. However, the state's advocate general, Soumendra Nath Mookherjee, objected, claiming that the state government had yet to receive a copy of the petitioners' appeal.

After hearing both sides, the division bench announced that the case will be heard by a regular bench on November 1.