Justice Amrita Sinha of Calcutta High Court on Friday issued an interim order saying that the fate of the tests conducted to appoint teachers for Classes IX and X and XI and XII in government-aided schools would depend on the outcome of a case filed by some of the candidates.

The judge fixed the matter for hearing on November 12.

The candidates who filed the petition sought an order asking the school service commission (SSC) to state whether an extra 10 marks set aside for in-service teachers who appeared the fresh tests held in September would be awarded before the interview or the publication of the merit lists.

The tests for the secondary and higher secondary levels were held on September 7 and September 14.

The petitioners also challenged the legality of the SSC’s decision to award extra marks to the in-service teachers.

An education department official said it was not clear why the court issued an interim order when the Supreme Court had already dismissed a special leave petition challenging Calcutta High Court’s decision to allow Bengal’s new teacher recruitment rules containing the provision to award 10 marks to the in-service teachers.

On July 21, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma found no grounds to interfere with the high court’s judgment to allow the SSC to frame its own rules for the tests.

“It’s the commission’s prerogative to decide at what level the extra marks would be awarded,” an SSC official said on Friday.