HC rules forced resignation of Gazipur school headmaster invalid

The High Court has ruled that a resignation letter obtained from a school teacher using coercion has no legal validity and directed authorities to reinstate Md Alkas Uddin Ahmed, headmaster of Golam Nabi Model Pilot High School in Gazipur's Kaliakair, who was forced to resign on August 14, 2024.

In the full text of its verdict, the court observed that Alkas’s resignation lacked legal sanction. “The facts and other correspondence among the authorities show that the petitioner’s resignation was not willful. There has to be a structure for an institutional resignation and handover process,” the bench noted.

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The court said upon receiving a resignation letter, the managing committee must convene a meeting, pass a resolution accepting the resignation, notify the competent authority, and issue an official release order specifying the effective date of cessation.

The verdict was delivered on August 20 this year by Justice Md Iqbal Kabir and Justice SM Saiful Islam after hearing a writ petition filed by Alkas challenging the government’s acceptance of his forced resignation.

Alkas’s lawyer Md Zahurul Islam Mukul said locals forced him to sign the letter against his will. He filed a general diary with Kaliakair Police Station the following day and informed the district secondary education officer, the upazila nirbahi officer, the DG of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, and the Dhaka Education Board chairman, seeking intervention.

Following an investigation, the Dhaka Education Board directed his reinstatement. However, as the order was not implemented, Alkas filed the writ petition.

In the full text of the verdict, the HC said that if the directive is ignored, the education board chairman and the DG of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education must take disciplinary action, which may include dissolving the managing committee, removing its president, and stopping MPO benefits of the acting head teacher, who also serves as member-secretary of the committee.