A group of 79 graduate teachers from Tripura have filed a case with the Supreme Court, arguing that their state government unlawfully fired them and asking to be allowed back into their positions.
In their writ case, the teachers accused the Tripura government of arbitrary mass termination in their letters dated December 2017 and March 2020, which they filed before the Indian Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The petitioners, represented by advocates Amrit Lal Saha, Tarini K. Nayak, and Aaditya Mishra, claim that the arbitrary actions of the state have not only caused them to lose their means of subsistence but have also had grave repercussions, such as the reported suicides and unexplained deaths of over 160 affected teachers.
“The illegal termination violates the very established legal procedures and that the affected teachers have been left in a state of destitution, compelled to take menial jobs such as rickshaw pulling and domestic work to make their ends meet,” Nayak said.
The petition of the teachers brought attention to what it called a vast swindle inside the Tripura government, pointing out that the petitioners income codes and employment status are still alive in official records despite their termination.
Following their hearing of the case, a two-judge panel of the Supreme Court; Judges PB Varale and Vikram Nath sent a notice to the government of Tripura for an answer to the accusations.
The case also brought up crucial issues about protection of employment rights and administrative responsibility, particularly when mass terminations impact a large number of people, their livelihood, and their families.
The resolution of this legal dispute is expected to have significant ramifications for the country’s public sector workers’ rights and the larger conversation around government accountability in addition to the dismissed teachers in Tripura.
As the matter developed, the petitioners were fairly optimistic that the Supreme Court would rule in their favour. The petitioners, unhappy teachers seeking justice and the restoration of their employment rights, claimed that the SC will grant them the redress they seek.
