IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION APPELLATE SIDE Present:

The Hon’ble Justice Rai Chattopadhyay WPA 3022 of 2013 Tithi Adhikary Vs.

The State of West Bengal & Ors.

For the Petitioner : Mr. Dibyayan Banerji : Mr. Soham Kumar For the State : Mr. Subhendu Bandopadhyay : Mr. Subhendu Sengupta For the respondent Nos. 2 & 3 : Mr. Arjun Roy Mukherjee : Ms. Debapriya Mitra : Mr. S. Mukherjee Reserved on : 30.01.2026 Judgment on : 17.02.2026 Rai Chattopadhyay, J. :-

1) The writ petitioner is the erstwhile Group-C staff of Uluberia East Circle and Bally West Circle, Howrah under the District Project Director, Sarba Shikkha Mission, Howrah, who has subsequently discharged duty as a departmental assistant in the secretariat of the Education Minister, Government of West Bengal. She is aggrieved with and challenges in this writ petition, termination of her service, which she says is illegal. The writ petitioner has prayed for reinstatement in service as a Group-C employee.

2) The writ petitioner was selected through a process of written test and interview to be appointed as above. She has joined in her post on and from May 2, 2007 at Uluberia East Circle, Uluberia Block-II, Howrah. After one year the petitioner was transferred from there to Bally West Circle, Howrah vide an order issued by the District Project Officer/respondent No. 6 dated November 27, 2008. The petitioner’s service was extendable every year. Thus, her service was extended each year starting from the year 2007 till March 2010. According to the petitioner, after March 2010, her service has never been extended by the respondent authorities, allegedly unauthorisedly and illegally. The petitioner’s prayer for redress in her written representation submitted before the respondent authorities fell only to deaf ears.

3) However, her relief came consequent to her later submitted before the Minister in Charge, School Education Department, West Bengal, when after considering the report of the concerned department, she was ultimately allowed to work as a departmental assistant in the sec. 8 of the Minister in Charge. The petitioner joined her new office at Bikash Bhawan on and from October 5, 2010. She worked there continuously and in lieu of appropriate salary till August 21, 2012. Allegedly, on August 21, 2012 her service was verbally terminated by the Officer on Special Duty to the Minister in Charge/respondent No. 7, with retrospective effect from August 16, 2012. Since in spite of her asking no written order of termination was served upon her, the petitioner continued to work in the said office up to October 31, 2012. On and from November 1, 2012, a new incumbent was inducted in the post where the petitioner was discharging duties in the secretariat of the Minister in Charge. Allegedly, all had representations made thereafter to seek reinstatement have never been considered. Petitioner has further alleged that all her colleagues have been duly extended in service and she solely has been illegally and arbitrarily ousted by the authorities. Hence, being aggrieved, she has filed the instant writ petition to seek relief as stated above.

4) It is revealed from the affidavit filed by the respondent/Sarba Shikkha Mission, that in service in Bally West Circle, the petitioner was issued a show cause notice dated December 7, 2009, on the allegation of dereliction of duty due to non-rectification of UDISE data. The petitioner has replied to the said show cause notice vide a letter dated December 9, 2009, which is said to have been found as unsatisfactory. According to the said respondent, since thereafter the nearly contract of the petitioner was no further renewed beyond March 15, 2010. A formal order was issued in this regard dated April 5, 2010 and due communication was made to the authorities at Bally West Circle, Howrah.

5) Mr. Dibyayan Banerji learned advocate has represented the petitioner in this case. He submits that the petitioner has suffered gross illegali