'TET candidates staging stir outside WBBPE office must abide by Sec 144'

State police would have to ensure that section 144 clamped in front of the office of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) is maintained

MP  |  21 Oct 2022 | KOLKATA: The TET 2014 candidates, who are staging protest, will have to abide by Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), observed the Calcutta High Court on Thursday. 

The court further directed that the state police would have to ensure that section 144 clamped in front of the office of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) is maintained. 

The police would have to ensure that the employees of the board are able to enter and exit from the office, the court observed further. 

Regarding the same issue, Justice Lapita Bandyopadhyay also asked whether the police were 'powerless' or not. 

The lawyer representing the Board, Subir Sanyal, said: "We are not against the protestors. But, we want the police to take steps so that our employees are able to enter and exit from the office. We have sent similar requests to the police over email and have also shared the picture of the protest." 

Till reports last came in, police had not used any force to remove the agitators from their protest site and were trying to convince them to follow the court order. However, the protestors continued their agitation. 

Meanwhile, the state informed the court that the administration had failed in dispersing the protestors from outside the WBBPE office. Section 144 had been clamped in the area since October 9. But, the protestors had not followed the restrictions imposed, the state informed the court. 

Earlier, the WBBPE had filed a complaint with the High Court in connection to the protest staged by the TET 2014 candidates and stated that workers were unable to enter the office due to the agitation resulting in a disruption of day-to-day activity. 

On Tuesday, WBBPE president Gautam Pal had called the demands made by the protesting TET 2014 graduate 'illegal' and stated that they should 'withdraw' the protest and take part in the recruitment process. 

Paul requested the agitators to withdraw their sit-in. Hinting that the sit-in protest may have been instigated by some political parties, state Education minister Bratya Basu had said: "There are people who want the impasse to continue."

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/tet-candidates-staging-stir-outside-wbbpe-office-must-abide-by-sec-144-496613