Kolkata, 1 September (H.S.).

The Calcutta High Court on Monday dealt a setback to ‘eligible’ teachers deprived of jobs under the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam. The court denied them permission to hold a rally but clarified that a five-member delegation — including petitioner Suman Biswas — may visit the SSC office at Acharya Sadan at 4 p.m. to submit their memorandum.

The controversy began after police refused to allow a march from Karunamoyee to the SSC office. Teacher leader Suman Biswas then moved the court. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh barred the rally but granted limited permission for the delegation to meet SSC officials.

Meanwhile, tensions prevailed outside the SSC building since morning. A video shared on social media by Suman’s brother, Sanjay Biswas, showed an altercation at Karunamoyee Metro station between Suman and a man in a blue shirt, alleged to be a police officer. The video claimed that attempts were being made to detain Suman without any FIR or case. The man in question, however, dismissed the allegations as baseless. The authenticity of the video has not been independently verified.

This is not the first confrontation between police and protesting teachers. On August 18, Suman Biswas was allegedly detained by police during a similar demonstration. Protesters claimed that officers raided his home at dawn, picked him up from Adisaptagram station, and kept him at Mogra police station for several hours before releasing him.

In a parallel development, a six-member delegation including Chinmoy Mondal and Mrinmoy Mondal met Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari and ISF legislator Naushad Siddiqui to seek political support. The teachers are demanding a bill or ordinance in the Assembly to reinstate eligible candidates. Siddiqui, however, maintained that a Supreme Court order cannot be directly enforced through legislative means.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh