The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday set aside a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking deferment of the date of West Bengal Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) scheduled on December 24 on grounds that a programme of ‘Gita Chanting’ where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to be present is being held on the same day.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya said that directions sought in the PIL cannot be given.
“It is submitted that 773 [examination] centres throughout the State of West Bengal and only five centres are in Kolkata. None of the five centres in Kolkata are in close proximity to the venue of the event,” the Division Bench said. The event is scheduled at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata’s Maidan area. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Dilip Ghosh and a student have sought the change of dates of the TET examination where lakhs of students are likely to participate on grounds that it coincided with the religious event.
