Sacked teachers head from West Bengal to Delhi to attend SC hearing

A delegation of sacked teachers from West Bengal left for New Delhi on Monday to attend the upcoming Supreme Court hearing and to seek nationwide political support for their demands. The group also announced an assembly campaign on June 16, warning of a protest if their issues remained unresolved.
From the Kolkata airport, Suman Biswas, one of the key faces of the protest, said, "By going to Delhi, we will try to draw the attention of the Prime Minister, President and leaders of various national parties towards our problems."
The move came after West Bengal teaching and non-teaching staff lost jobs in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict on April 3 that upheld a prior Calcutta High Court decision to annul recruitments made through the 2016 recruitment conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC)
Around 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal lost their jobs because of alleged corruption in various examinations conducted by the state's School Service Commission.
The bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the West Bengal SSC's selection process was based on large-scale manipulations and fraud, and ordered the TMC government to initiate a fresh selection process.
A section of the teachers are planning to file a review petition as well as to meet President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister, along with other MPs and leading politicians, with an appeal for reinstatement.
They also called for a 'Bidhan Sabha Aviyan' on June 16, demanding the release of the mirror image of their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets to identify the genuine candidates.
Earlier on April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court's decision to quash the recruitment of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff by the WBSSC in 2016 for the state-run and aided schools. The top court's verdict came on a petition filed by the West Bengal government that challenged an April 2022 order of the Calcutta High Court.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Indian Express

an hour ago

• Indian Express

In landmark order, Calcutta HC says transgender ID can be submitted while applying for passport; ‘big victory' says petitioner

Following an order by the Calcutta High Court after a battle lasting over a year, Anuprabha Das Majumdar, a transgender woman, can now apply for a passport with her transgender identity card. Directing the passport authority to consider the transgender identity card of Majumdar, Justice Amrita Sinha said on Wednesday, 'Transgender identity card of the petitioner shall be taken into consideration at the time of consideration of petitioner's passport application.' The ruling came after Majumdar filed a writ petition after the passport office denied her application for a passport even though she had a transgender identity card. Majumdar had applied for a passport in 2023 after getting her transgender identity card in February 2022. The Calcutta High Court's ruling effectively mandates the Regional Passport Office to recognise the transgender identity card as a valid document when processing Majumdar's fresh application, marking a significant acknowledgment of transgender individuals' rights under the 2019 Act. Speaking to The Indian Express, Majumdar's counsel Suman Ganguly said, 'As per my knowledge, this is a first case regarding the issuance of a passport on the basis of a transgender identity card. So this particular judgment will act as a precedent for the community in the future. They are being deprived of a lot of basic rights. The fight will go on, but this judgment will open a lot of doors.' Speaking to The Indian Express, Majumdar said, 'I had also faced the same issue while trying to obtain an Aadhaar card. They did not accept the transgender card but I contacted the authority under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019. After discussions, they (Aadhaar authority) took some time but they changed it.' 'Slowly, I changed everything, from my Aadhaar card to voter's card to PAN card. The passport authority said it is a major change so I have to go through the old process of gazette notification and all. They said they have not received any notification regarding the transgender ID card. We tried to contact the regional officer, sent emails, notices, etc. As a transgender person we only have this as the proof. After not getting a positive response, we moved the high court,' Majumdar added. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, enacted by the Indian government in December 2019 and with rules notified in September 2020, is a landmark legislation aimed at protecting transgender individuals' rights. It mandates equal treatment in areas such as education, employment, and access to public services, including the right to self-perceived gender identity. The Act also requires authorities to issue transgender identity cards, which serve as official recognition of an individual's gender identity. However, as Majumdar's case illustrates, implementation at the ground level has been inconsistent, often leaving transgender individuals struggling to access basic rights. During the hearings, Justice Sinha had expressed surprise at the passport authority for not knowing whether Majumdar had applied for a passport in 2023. 'The application was made in 2023. How can your authority say that she has not applied? That means they did not check it properly. How could the authority not have the knowledge of the application being made? These are online applications; they must be knowing it,' Justice Sinha had observed. Majumdar's counsel had also submitted a supplementary affidavit stating that she had applied for a passport, thus the counsel for the passport department sought time to take instructions. On Wednesday, the counsel for the passport office informed the court that the application had elapsed and if she reapplied, it will be considered. The transgender certificate and ID card are nationally recognised and provided by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Following this, the court ordered Majumdar to reapply for the passport. Majumdar told The Indian Expess, 'I am feeling very positive after the judgment. What all happened two years ago was very disturbing. As an Indian citizen, these are basic documents. This is a big victory for all transgender people. We face hurdles because of low awareness in society, but this is a law and any form of discrimination is a crime.' She said the fight will go on so that future generations do not have to face such hurdles. She has been invited for a senimar in the UK in July by an organisation that works for the legal rights of women. 'I will be applying for my passport via Tatkal once again and then a visa so that I can go for the seminar,' Majumdar said.

News18

3 hours ago

• News18

EC Cites Privacy, Legal Concerns After Congress Demands Polling Booth CCTV Footage

Last Updated: The Election Commission cited privacy and legal issues in response to Rahul Gandhi's demand for CCTV footage of polling stations. Gandhi urged publishing digital voter rolls. Following a demand made by Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, the Election Commission on Saturday cited privacy and legal hurdles while sharing the CCTV footage of webcasting of the polling stations. This comes after Rahul Gandhi has called upon the Election Commission to publish consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra, saying that 'telling the truth" will protect the poll panel's credibility. ECI said that the seemingly legitimate appeal of releasing the videos or CCTV footage from polling stations on election day undermines voter privacy and security, contradicting the Representation of the People Act and Supreme Court guidelines. 'What is veiled as a very logical demand is actually entirely contrary to the privacy and security concerns of the voters, legal position laid down in the Representation of the People Act, 1950/1951 and the directions of the Supreme Court of India," it said. 'Sharing of the footage, which would enable easy identification of the electors by any group or an individual, would leave both the elector who has voted as well as the elector who has not voted vulnerable to pressure, discrimination and intimidation by anti-social elements," the poll body added. It said that if a particular political party gets a lesser number of votes in a particular booth, it would easily be able to identify, through the CCTV footage, which elector has voted and which elector has not, and thereafter, may harass or intimidate the electors. The Election Commission further issued a point-by-point rebuttal to the Congress MP. . In any election, there may be electors who decide not to vote. Sharing of video footage of the poll day may result in the identification of such electors. This can also lead to profiling of the voters who voted as well as those who did not vote, which may become the basis for discrimination, denial of services, intimidation or inducement. Supreme Court order: The Supreme Court held that the right to vote includes the right not to vote, and the right of secrecy is accorded to even those persons who have decided not to vote. Video footage: Polling day videography records the sequence of voters entering the polling station and their identities, similar to Form 17A, which contains sensitive information about voters, including their ID details and signatures. Both pose a risk to voting secrecy. Violation of secrecy of voting is a punishable offence under Section 128 of RP Act, 1951 for – Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section is punishable with imprisonment for a term expending up to 3 months or fine or both.

Mint

4 hours ago

• Mint

Israel-Iran conflict: Tehran hangs Majid Mosayebi, alleged Mossad agent, third execution since April

Iranian authorities executed on Sunday a man convicted of being an agent for Israel's Mossad spy service, the judiciary said, as fighting raged between the two foes for the tenth day. According to an AFP report, judiciary's Mizan Online website said, 'Majid Mosayebi... was hanged this morning after going through the full process of criminal procedure and after his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court,' adding that Mosayebi sought to provide 'sensitive information ... to Mossad'. Iranian authorities have carried out multiple arrests of people suspected of spying for Israel since its attack on June 13, the report added. Mizan did not mention when Moseybi was arrested. According to the report, Iran had executed a man convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, the judiciary said on May 28. "After identification, arrest, and judicial proceedings against Pedram Madani, who was spying in favour of the Zionist regime, and following the complete process of criminal procedure and the final confirmation and upholding of the verdict by the Supreme Court, he was brought to justice and executed," Mizan Online reported. According to the report, Madani was accused of transmitting classified information and holding meetings with Mossad officers abroad, including in Brussels. The judiciary said he had travelled to "the occupied territories" – the term used by Iranian officials to describe Israel – prior to his arrest in 2020-2021. He was also convicted of acquiring "illicit wealth" by receiving euros and bitcoin from Israel, the report added. Mizan added that Madani was ultimately found guilty of "espionage on behalf of the Zionist regime's intelligence service (Mossad)" under charges of waging war against God and "corruption on earth", and sentenced to death. The report did not detail Madani's age, profession or how he obtained the classified information. His case follows a string of similar executions in Iran targeting individuals accused of collaborating with Israel. In April, Iran executed Mohsen Langarneshin for allegedly aiding Mossad in the 2022 assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in Tehran. Authorities said Langarneshin provided technical support to Mossad and met with Israeli agents overseas. According to an AP report, the US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's effort to decapitating Iran's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities, an AP report said. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground, the report added. President Donald Trump announced the strikes. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The agency did not elaborate. Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate.