Supreme Court Rejects Regularisation Claims Of 361 West Bengal Madrasah Staff

The Supreme Court today(July 13) rejected the claims of over 350 teachers and non-teaching staff who claimed appointment in various Madrasahs in the State of West Bengal after the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008, was declared unconstitutional first by a single judge and then affirmed by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court.

The petitioners claimed that they were regularly appointed and were hence entitled to draw salary from the Grants-in-Aid Scheme of the State Government of West Bengal.

A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih passed the order stating that the writ petitions have no merit and therefore dismissed. 

"Pursuant to our order passed, particulars of 13 petitioners out of more than 350 were screened and placed before us. We proceeded on the basis that if one of the 13 would persuade us to hold, we would look into the claims of other cases. Unfortunately, neither of the 13 could persuade us. All writ petitions are without merit and hence, dismissed."

To briefly state, more than 40 writ petitions have been filed by 361 petitioners claiming to have been appointed as teachers and non-teaching staff of various Madrasahs in the State of West Bengal after the 2008 Act was held unconstitutional. by the High Court.  However, in SK. Mohd Rafique v. Managing Committee, Contai Rahamania High Madrasah (2020), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the 2008 Act.

Consequently, a contempt petition was moved before the Supreme Court, which on February 2, 2023, constituted a committee to look into the individual cases of those who claimed to have been appointed subsequent to the High Court's decision. The committee spurned their claims, the procedure of which was challenged by the petitioners through an Article 32 petition. 

A bench of Justice Datta heard the matter and asked the counsels representing the petitioners to identify ten most glaring cases of teachers and non-teaching staff and formed a few questions for them to be answered:

(i). Whether on the dates the petitioners were appointed in the concerned Madrasahs (the names may be disclosed), as claimed, such Madrasahs enjoyed valid recognition granted by the West Board of Madrasah Education?

(ii). Whether the Managing Committees of the concerned Madrasahs, where the petitioners claim to have been appointed, were valid Managing Committees in the sense that the same were duly constituted in accordance with the Management Rules and had the imprimatur of the Madrasah Education Board?

The judgment was reserved on May 21.

Story to be updated after the judgment is uploaded.

Case Details: NAJMA KHATUN AND ORS.v THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS|W.P.(C) No. 566/2024