Overview
- The division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul held there is "no impediment" to prospective implementation and directed work to begin forthwith.
- The Centre must file within four weeks an affidavit on disbursement of pending wages, with petitioners getting two weeks to respond before the next hearing.
- Funding to West Bengal was halted in March 2022 under Section 27, leaving the programme largely dormant and wages unpaid for long stretches, according to court filings.
- The Supreme Court on October 27 dismissed the Centre’s challenge to an earlier relaunch order, clearing the way for enforcement through Friday’s interim directions.
- West Bengal has begun operational preparations for resumption, instructing districts to verify job cards and complete e-KYC updates, as worker groups press for arrears estimated near Rs 4,500 crore.