Kolkata, 07 August (H.S.) : The Calcutta High Court has directed the issuance of contempt notices against senior West Bengal government officials for alleged non-compliance with its orders in the long-pending ICDS Supervisor recruitment case.

A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Parthasarathi Chatterjee directed that contempt notices be issued to the Principal Secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, ICDS Project Director Rachana Bhagat, and West Bengal Public Service Commission (PSC) Secretary Sagar Chakraborty. The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 10.

The case relates to the ICDS Supervisor recruitment process, which has remained under litigation for nearly 26 years. The petitioners alleged that despite clear directions from the High Court, the state government failed to implement the recruitment process in accordance with the prescribed policy.

Earlier, the High Court had directed that, in line with the Central Government's 2015 policy, 50 per cent of the total vacancies should be filled through promotion of Anganwadi workers, while the remaining 50 per cent should be filled through direct recruitment. The Division Bench had subsequently upheld this arrangement.

According to the petitioners, 1,713 posts were required to be filled through promotion under the court's directions. However, the state allegedly promoted only 409 Anganwadi workers, filling the remaining vacancies through direct recruitment in violation of the court's order.

Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Ashish Kumar Choudhury argued that several Anganwadi workers had successfully cleared the written examination and secured positions in the merit list but were still denied promotion.

The dispute stems from a 2019 recruitment notification issued by the West Bengal government for 3,458 ICDS Supervisor posts, of which only 422 posts were earmarked for promotion while 3,036 posts were reserved for direct recruitment. Anganwadi workers challenged the decision before the High Court.

On September 19, 2023, a single bench of the High Court directed the state to implement the Centre's policy by filling 50 per cent of the posts through promotion. That order was later upheld by the Division Bench.

With the High Court now directing contempt proceedings against senior officials for the alleged failure to comply with its earlier orders, the prolonged recruitment dispute has entered a significant new legal phase.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh