Form No. J(2)

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

THE HON’BLE JUSTICE SAUGATA BHATTACHARYYA W.P.A. 2511 of 2024 Sarmistha Das (Saha)

-vs-

The State of West Bengal & Ors.

For the Petitioner : Mr. Pradip Kumar Saha (Husband of the petitioner in-person)

For the State : Mr. Nabankur Paul : Ms. Rima Sarkar For the respondent nos. 5 & 6 : Mr. Uday Sankar Sarkar Mr. Biplab Kumar Sengupta Heard on : 21.07.2025 Judgment on : 21.07.2025 SAUGATA BHATTACHARYYA, J.:

1) Writ petition is heard at length in presence of learned advocates representing the authorities of Patharghata High School (HS), Darjeeling (hereinafter referred to as “said school”) and State respondents. However, Sri Pradip Kumar Saha, husband of the petitioner appears in-person and has made his submission.

2) In the writ petition petitioner has prayed for issuance of mandamus for giving effect to recast panel where petitioner’s position was upgraded from third to first in connection with an interview held on 5th February, 1997 for appointment of Assistant Teacher in Bio Science in said school. The issue has got chequered history and petitioner preferred one after another writ petitions in pursuit of being appointed as Assistant Teacher in Bio Science in said school. Previously in contempt proceeding being WPCRC 28553 of 2006 in connection with WPA 9581 of 2003 said school authority upgraded the position of the petitioner in the panel from third to first upon recognition of petitioner’s B.Ed. degree which was found to be valid. While disposing of the contempt application, it was recorded in the order dated 19th April, 2024 that the panel was forwarded to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Siliguri on 27th February, 2024 and same was received by the Office of the District Inspector of Schools on 1^st March, 2024. However, fact remains till date panel has not been approved by the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Siliguri.

3) Two consecutive reports have been filed, one dated 21^st March, 2025 and last one dated 16^th July, 2025. On perusal of said two reports what is striking is inability of the petitioner to write Bengali as admitted by her vide letter which is at page 32 of the report filed by the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Siliguri in the form of affidavit affirmed on 2^nd April, 2024. District Inspector of Schools (SE), Siliguri has pointed out in both the reports that in terms of Government notification dated 21^st September, 2007 a candidate willing to be appointed as teacher in any school or madrasah having Bengali or English or Hindi and so on as medium of instruction must have Bengali or English or Hindi and so on, as the case may be, as first or second or third language at any of secondary or higher secondary or graduation level.

4) From the letter which is at page 32 of the report filed by the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Siliguri in the form of affidavit affirmed on 2^nd April, 2024, it transpires that petitioner passed All India Secondary School Examination in 1982 and all India Senior School Certificate Examination in 1984 from Central School under Central Board of Secondary Education and had taken Hindi as a core language and passed B.Sc. and B.Ed. examinations in English medium. Therefore, it appears that at no point of time petitioner studied Bengali as required under notification dated 21st September, 2007 which is pointed out by the concerned District Inspector of Schools in the reports referred to above. Said school is a Bengali medium school and petitioner is a teacher of Bio-Science. If petitioner cannot write Bengali it will be hardly possible for her to impart lesson of Bio- Science in Bengali. In this regard, reliance is placed on the letter of the petitioner which is at page 32 of the report referred to above wherein petitioner admitted it is not easy for her to teach in Bengali as she cannot write Bengali properly.

5) It is true that notification which was relie