On May 20, 2025, the Calcutta High Court issued a contempt rule against eight individuals, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh, for allegedly heckling lawyers within the High Court premises. This action stems from an incident linked to public discontent over developments in the ongoing teachers’ recruitment scam case.

A special three-judge bench, comprising Justices Arijit Banerjee, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, and Rajarshi Bharadwaj, was constituted to address the matter. The bench had previously, on May 2, directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to submit a report on the incident, including CCTV footage from the court corridors where the commotion occurred.

Despite being granted a fortnight to file affidavits in response to the allegations, none of the accused submitted their replies. The court noted that the allegations remained uncontroverted and scheduled the next hearing for June 16, 2025, at 12:30 PM.

Kunal Ghosh appeared before the court but did not file an affidavit. His counsel requested a short extension, citing a late review of the police report to accurately reflect Ghosh’s non-involvement. However, the court declined the request and insisted all alleged contemnors must respond to the contempt rule.

Ghosh later clarified that the delay was procedural and emphasized his faith in the judiciary while attributing political motives to those implicating him.

The contempt proceedings are being conducted under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, which defines criminal contempt as actions that scandalize or lower the authority of the court, or interfere with judicial proceedings.

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