Candidates who have not completed the requisite teacher training course by the recruitment notification date are ineligible for the recruitment process, irrespective of their TET qualifications.

JUDGMENT :

Bivas Pattanayak, J.

1. Affidavits of service filed on behalf of the petitioners are taken on record.

2. By the present writ petition, the petitioners seek for publication of the final results of Diploma in Elementary Education (in short, 'D.El.Ed.') for the session 2023-2025 prior to the last date of the application of recruitment Notification dated 25th September, 2025 and also directing the respondent authorities to allow the petitioners to participate in the ongoing selection process in connection with the said recruitment notification.

3. Both the writ petitions are taken up together since the petitions have similarity of facts and prayers.

4. In the present writ petitions, some of the petitioners have qualified in TET 2014, some have qualified in TET 2022 and some in TET 2023, the details of which are re-produced in a tabular form as hereunder:

In WPA No.24180 of 2025:

5. The petitioners herein contend that all of them have completed the D.El.Ed course for the session 2023-2025 which is required for the ongoing recruitment process. However, since the results of the D.El.Ed course have not been declared as yet, they are unable to participate in the recruitment process initiated vide Notification dated 25th September, 2025 read with Notification dated 19th November, 2025. Hence this writ petition.

6. Mr. Sudipta Dasgupta, learned advocate appearing for the petitioners, at the outset placing reliance on the Notification issued by the N.C.T.E. dated 9^th June, 2021, submits that once a candidate qualifies the TET, it is valid for life, until and unless, it is revoked and/or cancelled by a competent authority. None of the certificates issued in favour of the petitioners by the authority concerned i.e. the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (in short, 'the WBBPE') have been cancelled till date by the authority. The petitioners, who have qualified in TET 2014 as untrained candidates, in order to make them sufficiently trained, have taken admission in D.El.Ed courses as required by the subsequent notification of the N.C.T.E. The petitioners who have qualified TET 2022 and TET 2023 have also taken admission and completed the course of D.El.Ed and the results are awaited. Due to non-publication of the said results and arbitrary withholding of the same by the Board, the rights of the petitioners to at least participate in the recruitment process has been affected. He indicates that the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Devesh Sharma versus. Union of India reported in (2023) 18 SCC 339 does not cancel the TET certificates or the TET qualification granted to the candidates. The notification of the N.C.T.E. dated 28^th June, 2018 allowed the Graduates with at least 50% marks with Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) Degree to apply for appointment to the post of Assistant Teacher of primary school. The candidates of TET 2022 during the subsistence of the said notification dated 28^th June, 2018 has appeared in TET 2022 and has been declared qualified. The petitioners who have appeared in TET 2023 have appeared as pursuing candidates of D.El.Ed course as per the guidelines of the N.C.T.E and they have successfully qualified. Thus, once the petitioners have qualified in the TET examination conducted by the Board, the same is cannot be revoked and cancelled or arbitrarily withdrawn. The Board has not taken any steps for revocation and/or cancellation and, therefore, is debarred from challenging its own action. Thus, the qualification and certificates of TET 2014, TET 2022, and TET 2023