Supreme Court to hear contempt plea against CM Mamata Banerjee
The Supreme Court of India today listed after four weeks a contempt petition filed against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her comments on a recent supreme court decision concerning the appointment of 23,123 teaching and non-teaching staff in the State made through the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST).
A bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justice Vinod K Chandran also expressed its concern over the politicization of the issue when Senior Advocate Maninder Singh informed the bench that the petitioner has sought the consent of the Attorney General for initiating contempt proceedings.
"Are you sure you will get consent..we should dismiss it right now..dont politicize such issues..", the bench told the senior counsel.
In April this year, Supreme Court of India had upheld the Calcutta High Court's 2024 judgement quashing the appointment of 23,123 teaching and non-teaching staff in the State as it observed that the entire selection process was vitiated by "manipulation and fraud."
Court further directed that a fresh recruitment exercise be conducted within three months.
The West Bengal government had filed a plea in the Supreme Court questioning the correctness of the Calcutta High Court's order. It also challenged the direction to the candidates who submitted blank OMR sheets but obtained appointments, to return all remunerations and benefits received by them to the State exchequer along with interest calculated at 12 % per annum.
In what is called as cash-for-job scam, the CBI arrested former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and other bigwigs and recovered huge caches of cash during the investigation.
The high court's decision to nullify the SLST-2016 selection process was motivated by a multitude of discrepancies uncovered during the proceedings. These irregularities ranged from procedural violations to instances of nepotism and favouritism, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the appointments made through the said process.
Case Title: Aatmadeep vs. Mamata Banerjee
Hearing Date: July 21, 2025
Bench: CJI and Justice Vinod Chandran