Around 700 undergraduate teachers from Tripura have approached the Supreme Court challenging their termination orders issued by the State in 2017 and 2020.

 The teachers from Tripura moved to the top court saying their termination orders were being “unlawful and unconstitutional”.

 The petition said in 2014, a division bench of the High Court of Tripura had declared a certain Employment Policy, 2003 issued by the State government, “bad in law” and set aside the appointment of more than 10,000 teachers allegedly made thereunder, pursuant to which the petitioners were also terminated.

 The teachers have questioned the applicability of the said policy to the services thereof and urged that they were recruited in strict adherence to the recruitment rules for the time being in force, therefore falling out of the realm of the 2014 High Court Judgment.

 The petitioners said that they were never put to notice of the proceedings before the High Court and the said judgment has been delivered behind their back.

 They said in the petition that a massive scam is being perpetrated by the Tripura government.

The plea claimed the employment and salary codes of all such terminated teachers have still been kept active and therefore, the monthly remuneration of such teachers is being debited to the state exchequer and misappropriated by certain corrupt officials/bureaucrats.

The petitioners have further disclosed that the Principal Accountant General (Addl.), Tripura is investigating the alleged fraud.

 The petitioners have also highlighted the dilapidated condition of the school education system in the State wherein the brunt of acute shortage of teachers is being borne by innocent students.

 The petition was drawn by advocates Amrit Lal Saha, TK Nayak and Aaditya Mishra.