Kolkata, Apr 17 (PTI) Hundreds of supporters owing allegiance to Left-affiliated organisations — SFI and DYFI — on Thursday staged protests near the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) headquarters at Salt Lake here demanding justice for the nearly 26,000 teachers who lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court verdict.

The protesters, raising slogans and carrying placards, were stopped by police who had set up barricades on the approach road to the SSC office, preventing them from marching further.

The demonstrators demanded that a delegation be allowed to meet SSC chairman Siddhartha Majumdar. But the request was denied by the authorities.

In response, the supporters squatted on the road, vowing not to leave until they were granted an audience with the SSC chief.

The protest also saw the participation of members from the All Bengal Teachers Association (ABTA), a prominent teachers’ union, in solidarity with the affected teaching and non-teaching staff.

On April 3, the top court invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers in the state-run and aided schools, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”.

It upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict of April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments and said the tainted candidates should refund their “salaries/payments received”. PTI dc MNB