KOLKATA: A conflict between two benches of Calcutta HC over whether CBI should probe an alleged fake caste certificate scam in Bengal boiled over Thursday, with the advocate general joining the jousting judges in a courtroom spectacle involving political insinuations and personal jibes.
Lawyers and litigants were left agape when advocate general Kishore Datta told Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay that he was going to get a BJP ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election. The latter accused a division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar of being guided by “personal interest”.
The controversy erupted the previous day after Justice Gangopadhyay allowed CBI to probe the case, only for the division bench to stay the order twice. Justices Sen and Kumar repeated the stay order at Thursday’s hearing, setting aside the agency’s FIR in the case and directing it to return the documents collected from the court.
The judges also sought to know from the court’s registrar general how CBI received a copy of Justice Gangopadhyay’s order despite a higher bench staying it the same day.
HC judge takes dig at fellow judge
Justice Gangopadhyay, who took up the case a little later, termed the division bench’s order “invalid” and asked CBI to proceed with the probe.
Justice Gangopadhyay’s order for CBI to continue its probe into alleged use of fake caste certificates for MBBS admission in state-run colleges led to a heated exchange between him and the advocate general, culminating in the latter accusing the judge of being the only one in HC “trying to denigrate the justice delivery system”.
He had previously complained about Justice Gangopadhyay to the division bench.
Justice Gangopadhyay said he was unable to perform his duty because of Justice Sen. “Justice Sen told Justice Amrita Sinha (another Calcutta HC judge) before the court’s winter vacation that (Trinamool neta) Abhishek Banerjee had a bright future. Justice Sinha apprised the chief justice of this. It follows from all this that Justice Sen is acting on behalf of a particular political party,” he said.
Justice Gangopadhyay argued that CBI should continue with its investigation. He directed the registrar general to deliver a copy each of the order to Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and CJI D Y Chandrachud.
Advocate general Datta approached the division bench again, at which Justice Sen referred him to CJ Sivagnanam.
Lawyers and litigants were left agape when advocate general Kishore Datta told Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay that he was going to get a BJP ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election. The latter accused a division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar of being guided by “personal interest”.
The controversy erupted the previous day after Justice Gangopadhyay allowed CBI to probe the case, only for the division bench to stay the order twice. Justices Sen and Kumar repeated the stay order at Thursday’s hearing, setting aside the agency’s FIR in the case and directing it to return the documents collected from the court.
The judges also sought to know from the court’s registrar general how CBI received a copy of Justice Gangopadhyay’s order despite a higher bench staying it the same day.
HC judge takes dig at fellow judge
Justice Gangopadhyay, who took up the case a little later, termed the division bench’s order “invalid” and asked CBI to proceed with the probe.
Justice Gangopadhyay’s order for CBI to continue its probe into alleged use of fake caste certificates for MBBS admission in state-run colleges led to a heated exchange between him and the advocate general, culminating in the latter accusing the judge of being the only one in HC “trying to denigrate the justice delivery system”.
He had previously complained about Justice Gangopadhyay to the division bench.
Justice Gangopadhyay said he was unable to perform his duty because of Justice Sen. “Justice Sen told Justice Amrita Sinha (another Calcutta HC judge) before the court’s winter vacation that (Trinamool neta) Abhishek Banerjee had a bright future. Justice Sinha apprised the chief justice of this. It follows from all this that Justice Sen is acting on behalf of a particular political party,” he said.
Justice Gangopadhyay argued that CBI should continue with its investigation. He directed the registrar general to deliver a copy each of the order to Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and CJI D Y Chandrachud.
Advocate general Datta approached the division bench again, at which Justice Sen referred him to CJ Sivagnanam.
