Calcutta High Court Quashes Regularisation Of 313 Volunteer Teachers Under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, Calls Appointments Illegal

The Calcutta High Court has set aside and quashed the regularisation and state approval of 313 volunteer teachers appointed under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), holding that their appointments were illegal.

Justice Biswajit Basu observed that the state failed to justify the recruitment process and that the approvals given could not withstand judicial scrutiny.

The issue emerged from a writ petition filed in 2023 challenging the legality of the appointments of 313 teachers across government-aided schools in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong regions. Petitioners contended that these teachers were regularised without a formal or authorised recruitment process, in clear violation of established norms and directives.

During earlier hearings, the court had observed prima facie irregularities in the recruitment of these teachers, noting that many lacked the mandatory B.Ed qualification required for secondary and higher secondary teaching posts. The state government was unable to adequately justify the appointments, which were made despite a 2010 directive prohibiting the appointment of volunteer teachers without written approval from the school education department.

In April 2025, the High Court had proposed freezing the salaries of the 313 teachers and demanded that the state explain why the exchequer should bear the burden of salaries paid to individuals whose appointments were fraught with legal infirmities. The bench had given the state a deadline to comply or face direct court action.

In quashing the regularisation, the court underlined the importance of adherence to statutory procedures and administrative propriety, emphasising that appointments lacking legal sanction cannot be upheld merely on the basis of administrative approval.