The high court on Monday drew up contempt proceedings against Bengal’s school education department and asked the state’s counsel whether school staff sacked by a Supreme Court order on April 3 were still getting their salaries.

The bench headed by Justice Debangshu Basak also asked the state’s counsel what steps the education department had taken to recover the salaries drawn by the “tainted candidates” as had been ordered.

On April 3, the Supreme Court said the tainted candidates should be required to refund any salaries/payments received.

Calcutta High Court was hearing a contempt petition against senior officials of
the school education department and the school service commission for allegedly not complying with the court’s orders.

“Is it true that both the tainted and untainted teachers and staff appointed in 2016 are still getting their salaries?” Justice Basak asked.

The bench also wanted to know from the state government’s counsel what steps the Bengal government took to ensure the tainted sacked employees refunded their salaries drawn since the start of their employment.

Justice Basak’s bench asked whether the school service commission had obeyed the Supreme Court’s order and uploaded the list of the tainted and the rest.

The state was asked to file its replies on Wednesday, the date of the next hearing.

The bench asked the CBI’s counsel what steps the agency had taken to carry out the apex court’s directive to continue with their investigation and file a report before the high court.

The lawyer appearing for the CBI said the probe was on and sought 10 days to file its report.

Sudipta Dasgupta, the lawyer for those who filed the contempt petition, told the bench that “even though the Supreme Court had upheld the order passed by this division bench of the high court, the state education department is yet to follow the order”.

“They (the terminated school staff) are still getting their salaries,” Dasgupta
said.

The high court had on April 22, 2024 terminated the jobs of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching school staff. The state government had challenged that order in the Supreme Court but, on April 3, the apex court upheld the high court order.

The contempt notice mentions that the advocate for the petitioner, “by a letter dated 9th April, 2025, has requested the contemnors to comply with the Judgment and Order dated 22nd April, 2024”.