West Bengal recruitment scam | Supreme Court directs Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta HC to reassign proceedings to another judge

The Supreme Court on April 28 directed the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to reassign proceedings in the West Bengal school job-for-bribe scandal from Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to another High Court judge.

The Supreme Court on April 28 directed the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to reassign proceedings in the West Bengal school job-for-bribe scandal from Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to another High Court judge.

The Order came on the basis of an authenticated transcript of the comments made by Justice Gangopadhyay about the case, which was pending before him, during a TV interview.

“A judge has no business giving an interview in a pending case,” Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud, hearing the case, had observed orally on April 24 while seeking a report from the Calcutta High Court.

After perusing the report filed by the Registrar General of the High Court on April 28, the apex court observed in its order that “we direct the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to reassign the pending proceedings in the case to some other judge of the High Court”.

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Justice Gangopadhyay had passed several 10 orders in the case which involves ruling Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. Mr. Banerjee had approached the apex court about Justice Gangopadhyay’s interview.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is appearing for CBI, the prosecuting agency in the case, made a vociferous submission that there was a “pattern” in the State of browbeating judges who do not give orders favourable to a “particular person”.