Calcutta HC contempt notice to Chief Secy, two other top officers

Kolkata, April 29 The Calcutta High Court on Friday has issued notice for contempt of court to three top bureaucrats of West Bengal - Chief Secretary, H.K. Dwivedi, Finance Secretary, Manoj Pant, and Transport Secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh.

A single judge bench of Justice Arindam Mukhopadhyay issued notice on a petition seeking a pension scheme for retired employees of the South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC).

A retired employee last year filed a petition seeking introduction of the pension scheme, and in September 2021, the bench of Justice Mukhopadhyay accepted the demand and directed the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary and Transport Secretary to introduce it.

However, since the order was passed, there was been no progress on this count, following which the petitioner drew the attention of the court recently. On Friday, Justice Mukhopadhyay took a strong note of this and issued notice.

He also directed these three bureaucrats to be personally present at the court on May 20, and explain why the order of the court had not been adhered to as yet.

Samiran Mandal, the counsel for the petitioner, said that the North Bengal State Transport Corporation is giving pension to their retired employees. "However, the retired employees of SBSTC are deprived of pension. However, even after eight months of the court order, no pension scheme for WBSTC employees has been introduced. The court feels that this is a contempt of court and hence the three bureaucrats have been summoned and asked to give explanations," Mandal said.