Authority: Calcutta High Court (Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction)
Order Date: 17 September 2026
Case Overview
- Parties: CNI Girls Primary School (petitioner) vs State of West Bengal & others (respondents); writ petition WPA 10588 of 2025.
- Background: The school, a Christian minority institution, has six sanctioned teaching posts which became vacant after retirements. It recruited six assistant teachers under special minority rules, invoking notification No. 198‑SE/EE/10R‑1/2015 dated 3 March 2016 and advertising on 08‑10‑2020. Two teachers were already in service, bringing total teachers to eight.
- The school submitted the panel of six candidates to the District Inspector of Schools, Primary Education, Kolkata for post‑facto approval. Five appointments were approved; approval for Ms. Rina Mondal (respondent No.5) was withheld.
- The Commissioner of School Education, West Bengal issued an order on 18 September 2024 rejecting Ms. Mondal’s appointment on three grounds: (i) the vacancy was not a sanctioned post because the predecessor, Smt. Karuna Tudu, was not a salaried government employee; (ii) the vacancy arose before the school obtained minority status; (iii) the pupil‑teacher ratio, based on 2020‑21 data (259 students in 2020, 263 in 2021; ratios 32.3:1 and 32.8:1), fell below the statutory 40:1 requirement.
- The school argued that minority status was conferred on 13 June 2007 by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, and that the vacancy resulted from the retirement of Smt. Karuna Tudu, whose service was approved by a District Inspector letter dated 15 April 1961 and who retired on 30 August 1997. The school also highlighted other vacancies (e.g., Smt. Pratibha Naskar, Smt. Binita Ghosh) that had been filled similarly.
- Counsel Mr. Kamalesh Bhattacharyya submitted extensive documentary evidence: approval letters, service records, leave sanction memos, monthly returns, and a recent student strength of 497, which satisfies the 40:1 pupil‑teacher ratio for schools with more than 200 pupils under Clause 1(a) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
- The Commissioner relied on paragraph 3 of the 3 March 2016 notification, which mandates appointment only against regular sanctioned vacant posts and a pupil‑teacher ratio of at least 40:1.
- The Court examined the documents and found the Commissioner’s findings on the predecessor’s salary and the pupil‑teacher ratio to be perverse and contrary to the evidence on record.
- The Court also referred to the earlier judgment Shri Dinabandhu Chongdar vs State of West Bengal (25 August 2023), affirmed by the Supreme Court, which granted relief in a similar context.
Final Outcome
- The September 18, 2024 order of the Commissioner of School Education, West Bengal is set aside.
- The District Inspector of Schools, Primary Education, Kolkata is directed to immediately approve the appointment of Ms. Rina Mondal, fix appropriate pay, and pay any arrears.
- The approval process must be completed within eight weeks of the judgment.
- Writ petition WPA 10588 of 2025 is allowed and disposed of.
Topics: Education Law, Minority Institution Rights, Teacher Recruitment