Calcutta High Court grants relief to man denied faculty post in Ramakrishna Mission College over Facebook posts

The Calcutta High Court recently granted relief to a man who was denied appointment as an Assistant Professor of English at a college run by the Ramakrishna Mission over certain social media posts that were allegedly offensive to a particular religion and to the Ramakrishna Mission and its monks [Tamal Dasgupta v State of West Bengal and ors]..A Bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee observed that Swami Vivekananda, who founded the Ramakrishna Mission, had encouraged the acceptance of those who held differing religious and ideological viewpoints. As such, the Court observed that the college could not deny a faculty appointment to someone merely because he may hold different ideological views. "I find no justification for the decision of the Governing Body of the College which proceeds on the premise that, merely because the petitioner had expressed certain views on social media and adheres to a different ideology, faith, or belief, his appointment would be detrimental to the ideology of the Mission, which is firmly anchored in its foundational principles," the September 2 ruling said. .The Court also observed that the college does not hold the status of a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution of India to impose conditions regarding the ideological status of its faculty."The College cannot claim to be a minority educational institution, nor can it claim any special status. It also cannot impose a condition on the Commission that recommendations for any post in the College be limited only to individuals who are followers of the ideology of the Ramakrishna Mission or who do not bear any different ideology," the Court held.Further, the Court recorded the petitioner’s assurance that he would not make any public comments against the ideology of the Ramakrishna Mission. In view of this, the Court held that the Governing Body need not fear that the petitioner would pose any threat to the Mission’s ideology..The order was passed on a plea by one Tamal Dasgupta, who was earlier an Assistant Professor at Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, University of Delhi.He had responded to a recruitment advertisement issued by the West Bengal College Service Commission in 2020 to fill up Assistant Professor vacancies in various colleges in West Bengal. He was placed in a merit panel published on September 2023. During counselling, he opted to join the Ramkrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur.He was then required to sign a declaration forfeiting claims in other colleges, based on which he sold his Delhi flat and relocated to West Bengal..However, despite his selection, the college did not issue an appointment letter. It contended that the West Bengal College Service Commission’s recommendation to appoint Dasgupta as faculty was not binding. The college's Governing Body was not in favour of appointing him in view of certain Facebook posts that he had made, which it found objectionable. Before the Court, the Dasgupta argued that he was now left in a precarious position, particularly since he had been made to sign declaration that forfeited his right to be considered for appointment in any other college.He also pointed out that the Ramakrishna Mission College is a State-aided college. He contended that India, being a secular country, requires government-funded institutions to uphold secular values.It cannot either propagate religious ideology or compel adherence to it, especially when the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, he added..By its September 2 order, the Court granted him relief. It noted that the conflict between the college and Dasgupta was essentially a value-based conflict. It noted that Dasgupta's social media posts were not placed on record. Therefore, it refrained from commenting on it. However, given the inclusive philosophy that underpinned the Ramakrishna Mission and Dasgupta's assurance that he would not make any public comment against the Mission, the Court proceeded to order his appointment to the college. The Court, however, added that the college is free to initiate disciplinary action against Dasgupta if he does any act or makes any comment that goes against the best interests of the institution. .Advocates Raghunath Chakraborty, Amrita De and Mohana Das appeared for Dasgupta.Advocates Malay Kumar Singh and Neelam appeared for the State.Advocates Subhrangsu Panda, Ina Bhattacharya, Mithu Singha Mahapatra, Deepan Kumar Sarkar, Arti Bhattacharya, S Sen, Prithwish Roychowdhury and Deepti Priya appeared for the respondents..[Read Order]