Calcutta High Court bars Bengal Government from interim payment to sacked group C & D non -teaching staff.

In an interim order, the Calcutta High Court on Friday barred the West Bengal government from proceeding payment of proposed Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000 to the dismissed Group C and Group D non – teaching staff of the state-owned schools under the head of the social security until the outcome of its pending review petition in the Supreme court, sources said.

The Calcutta High Court single bench judge Justice Amrita Sinha, who ordered an interim stay on the controversial issue on June 9 last, on Friday directed that the government cannot go ahead with its proposed scheme until September 26, 2025, advocate Firdous Shamim, who had challenged the government order, told media. He said the court also directed the state to submit an affidavit in four weeks mentioning details why the government is considering paying those non-teaching staff of the state aided schools. Advocate Shamim said the court also directed them to submit another affidavit in two weeks after the submission of the state affidavit.

The Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee in May, 2025 had announced monthly allowances to Group C and Group D employees, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court ruling. The court on June 9 had questioned the state’s rationale for paying the allowance and whether the employees would be required to perform any work in return. The court specifically questioned whether the non-teaching dismissed staff would be required to perform any duties in exchange for the allowance, or if they would receive the money while remaining at home.

The Supreme Court on April 03^rd. 2025 had cancelled all 2016 panels of the state school service commission, upholding a Calcutta High Court order following the alleged cash-for-job scam and terminated about 26,000 jobs of teachers and non-teaching staff of the government-aided schools across the state.

The issue began after the Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of nearly 26,000 jobs from the 2016 SSC panel. Following this, the state government, citing humanitarian grounds, decided to provide financial assistance to those who lost their jobs. The government announced a monthly allowance of Rs 25,000 for Group C employees and Rs 20,000 for Group D dismissed employees. However, this decision by the state government was challenged in the Calcutta High Court.

Advocate Gopa Biswas’s primary argument was that the state’s move contradicted the Supreme Court’s ruling. The main question raised in the petition was: how can the state provide an allowance to individuals whose appointments were nullified by the apex court?

Similarly, Advocate Firdous Shamim asked why the government picked up the dismissed Group C and Group D staff and why it was depriving the teachers of its welfare scheme.

Team Maverick