Attendance at Yoga-event "not" mandatory for government employees: State tells Court

The West Bengal state government on Thursday clarified before the Calcutta High Court that attendance at the upcoming International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21 is not mandatory for its workforce. This legal clarification was presented during a petition hearing presided over by Justice Amrita Sinha. The case was brought forward by the State Co-ordination Committee of West Bengal Government Employees, which challenged a previous directive issued by Nabanna, the state secretariat. The administrative body had initially issued circulars heavily urging all tiers of administrative workers to assemble at various state-designated sites for the morning fitness event.

The employees' association filed the legal challenge in response to an administrative notification indicating that all permanent, temporary, contractual, daily wage, and outsourced personnel were expected to register and attend sessions across state departments, residential sectors, or Kolkata's central Red Road from 6:30 AM to 7:45 AM. Representing the petitioner group, Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya argued that forcing administrative workers to register for non-statutory events falls completely outside traditional service rules and oversteps statutory parameters. He maintained that departmental pressures had transformed an official request into a mandatory professional obligation for regional employees.

Countering the challenge, Additional Advocate General Billwadal Bhattacharya assured the High Court that employees retain absolute personal discretion regarding whether to participate or decline the invitation. The state counsel explicitly specified that employees would face no administrative retaliation or professional consequences for choosing not to attend the morning assembly. Following these assurances from the state's legal representatives, the bench observed that the underlying intention of the massive public campaign was to generate health awareness rather than execute punitive operational enforcement. Justice Sinha has listed the constitutional matter for further observation on Friday.