High Court Hurdles: West Bengal's OMR Sheet Controversy

The Calcutta High Court is set to hear a contempt petition against the West Bengal School Education Department over its failure to upload the OMR sheets of 26,000 staff who lost their jobs due to a Supreme Court judgment. The petition accuses the department of not complying with court orders.

The Calcutta High Court will address a contempt petition against the West Bengal Department of School Education on Wednesday. The case centers around the department's failure to upload OMR sheets for 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff who were dismissed following a Supreme Court ruling.

The petition alleges violation of a previous high court judgment and its subsequent modification by the apex court. The petitioners assert that the OMR sheets, stored on three hard disks, have not been made publicly available on the West Bengal School Service Commission's website as mandated.

The division bench, led by Justice Debangsu Basak, has instructed the additional solicitor general to offer guidance to the CBI on the matter. The original judgment called for a CBI probe into the flawed appointment procedures, with directives for comprehensive interrogations if necessary.

Petitioners also urge adherence to the 2024 ruling that mandates 'off-panel' appointees to return all remuneration with interest. The Supreme Court ruling had deemed the appointments of over 25,000 staff as 'vitiated and tainted.'

(With inputs from agencies.)