West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File | Photo credit: ANI
A petition seeking contempt proceedings against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with a teacher recruitment case was withdrawn from the Supreme Court on Thursday (Oct 16, 2025) after Attorney General R. Venkataramani refused to grant approval, a legal requirement for such proceedings.
A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran allowed the withdrawal after the petitioner, Aatmadeep, a charitable trust, informed the court that the Attorney General had refused to grant approval.
“I have been instructed to withdraw this contempt petition. The petitioner approached the Attorney General for approval but it was not granted,” informed advocate Ayush Anand, appearing for the petitioner.
The organization accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo of committing contempt of court over her remarks against the Supreme Court’s judgment earlier this year canceling the recruitment of more than 25,000 teachers in government schools in connection with the West Bengal teacher recruitment case.
In early July, a bench headed by the chief justice pulled up the organization for trying to bring “election battles” to the courtroom. “You have to fight your political battles elsewhere, not before the courts,” the Bench observed, accusing the petitioners of politicizing the issue.
In an earlier hearing, senior advocate Maninder Singh, who had applied for the trust, informed the court that an application had been made to the Attorney General’s office for consent to initiate contempt proceedings. Under Section 15 of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, read with Rule 3(c) of the Rules for the Conduct of Contempt Proceedings of the Supreme Court, 1975, such consent is required before a contempt plea is filed.
Based on this, the court adjourned the case for four weeks on July 21. The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently refused to grant consent and communicated its decision to the petitioner last month.
In a blow to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court in a judgment on April 3 upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision en bloc quashing the “tainted” selection process that saw the appointment of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools across the state.
A bench of then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar agreed with the Supreme Court’s finding that the selection process was vitiated and riddled with manipulation and fraud. “Attempts were made to cover up the fraud which only further impugned his credibility and the legitimacy of the tender,” the Bench said.
Shortly after the judgment, Ms. Banerjee challenged the Supreme Court’s decision. “Who has the right to take someone’s job? Nobody. You can put me in jail for saying that, but I don’t care,” she said. There was a “conspiracy” to malign the state’s education system, the CM said, criticizing the verdict for “painting all teachers with the same brush”.
The petitioner argued before the Supreme Court that the Prime Minister’s “undesirable” statements undermined the authority of the judiciary and tarnished the reputation of the institution.
Published – 16 Oct 2025 20:38 IST
