The high court on Friday asked the state secondary education board not to “give effect” to showcause notices the board had issued against some of the protesting schoolteachers who had allegedly stormed Bikash Bhavan on May 15.

“I direct that the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education will not give any effect to the showcause notices issued to the individuals pursuant to the incident of 15.05.2025,” Justice Tirthankar Ghosh said in a written order, while asking the teachers to shift the base of their protests from outside Bikash Bhavan, the education secretariat, to the adjacent Central Park.

The board last week showcaused 17 schoolteachers for attempting to storm Bikash Bhavan on May 15 and “wrongfully confining” employees and visitors for several hours.

Justice Ghosh gave the order after the state government’s counsel Kalyan Bandyopadhyay said during Friday’s hearing: “Now, I am requesting the justice to include a point for the interest of the agitators. Please note that West Bengal Board of Secondary Education would not give effect to its showcause notices served on some of them.”

Sangita Saha, one of two schoolteachers in the courtroom on Friday, said they
were relieved that the court stopped the showcause proceedings.

“Some of our fellow teachers who are part of the Deserving Teachers’ Rights Forum had been served the showcause notices after what happened on May 15. We are relieved that the court has asked the board not to give effect to the showcause,” said Saha.

She was allowed by the court to speak on behalf of the Forum while the court was hearing the state government’s application on shifting the site of the protest to Central Park.

When The Telegraph asked Bandyopadhayay why he did not want the board to proceed with the showcause, he said: “The state government is not inimical to the teachers. We are sympathetic to them. Had they not stormed Bikash Bhavan and not gone on the rampage on May 15 in the name of protest, we wouldn’t have anything to say against these teachers. They are well within their rights to hold a peaceful agitation.”

“We don’t want the board to take any coercive steps against the teachers,” he said.

The board, in its notice to showcaused teachers, had directed them to explain why they resorted to “such unlawful activities”.

The board said such activities were in “violation of the code of conduct and discipline of teaching and non-teaching staff of educational institutions as per applicable rules”.

The board had asked them to inform within seven days from the receipt of the notice “why no action will be taken against you”.

“We will comply with the court order,” an official of the board said.