‘RSS taught me that whatever profession you are in, you are working for the nation… Politics not my cup of tea, won’t join it’: Justice Dash

Excerpts:

Tell us about your journey at the Calcutta High Court.

My tenure here was just 23 months… in the Calcutta High Court. I retired on May 20. I found the bar very accommodating and cooperative. I love the city, it’s the city of joy. It’s very vibrant.

How and when did you join the RSS?

I was quite mischievous when I was a kid… One day I was fighting with another boy when a shakha pracharak, Nand Kishore Shukla, came there. Now, post retirement, I am searching for him (Shukla). I wish to meet him if he is alive. He intervened and separated us… then instructed us to come to the shakha. I was imbibed with many good qualities at the shakha… such as tolerance, patience, benchmark values of life. I learnt that in whichever field you work, be committed to your work with equal treatment to all irrespective of caste, creed etc. It taught us that whatever profession you are in, you are working for the nation.

What prompted you to make the statement about RSS in your farewell speech ?

I have acquired so many good qualities as a Sangh member which helped me dispense justice. The line came spontaneously to me in my farewell speech. I never thought about giving any speech like that. I never thought of saying that I belong to the RSS. I thought if I say so, it might give rise to a controversy. After my speech, a lot of negative comments poured in but I am not bothered about that as I am retired and I have done my bit. I was never biased against anybody. I can say that if you want to become a completely unbiased person, go to the RSS.

How much have you personally gained from your association with the RSS?

You can ask the bar, you can ask the people who have been associated with me… I was not associated with RSS for the past 37 years. My father died early… at the age of 53 years. I had no time to give to the Sangh. I had taken my licence by then also. I devoted all my time to legal practice. Even now I do not have any association with any person of the RSS. I want to re-cultivate it (association) as I am free now. People know what kind of person I am.

There is criticism that justices should not be associated with organisations. What do you have to say about it ?

Whoever is criticising, I would like to ask them a question, When you were born, did you have any idea what you would do? Would you know as a child whether you will become a singer, a judge, writer, bureaucrat, professor or a lecturer? I also had no idea that I would join the judiciary. If an organisation has shaped your personality, imbibed benchmark qualities, without being hypocritical you must admit that it is the organisation that has contributed to the qualities that I have. I didn’t want to be a hypocrite so I mentioned it. I was in Sangh till I was 28, now I am 60. I joined the service in 1999. It was not RSS, not Janta Dal or BJP or TMC who helped me get into the service. I am ignoring such criticism.

How did you join the judiciary?

I was associated with the Sangh till I was 28. After my father’s demise, the judiciary happened to me not by choice but by chance . My father, Justice Jagdeshwar Dash, was a renowned judge in Odisha. My mother used to think if I joined the judiciary, she would die peacefully. I qualified for the exam on merit and subsequently held different posts on merit. I was elevated in 2009 and for elevation also I didn’t go to any judge, bent on my knee. I was elevated on merit. In 2022, I came to Kolkata.

Some people are questioning your judgments after your remarks about RSS in your farewell speech. What do you feel about this?

If anyone is saying so, I will ask them to go and check my judgments. Destiny dragged me to Bengal. Do they have any knowledge of law? Let them go through the judgments. No one can find any social bias or any political bias. People sit in front of the TV and give lectures on how Sachin (former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar) should have hit a ball. I don’t care about any empty criticism.

These days, in several instances, people directly go to court, the court hands over the case to a central agency and reprimands the police. Do you think the system is collapsing?

Unfortunately, it is not just in Bengal but in many other states too. The problem is that police personnel for their personal growth are busy pleasing their masters whoever it could be… I would say that no criminal case is decided by the court but it is decided by the police station. We are only useless machinery for disposal of the case. We do not get proper evidence, we do not get any proper prosecution, what can we do? We cannot do anything.

Coming back to your association with RSS… Do you think a judge could dispense justice keeping in mind his association with the Sangh?

It is not difficult to be unbiased as the RSS doesn’t indoctrinate the mind of anyone. The Sangh trains you to develop a free mind. It trains your overall personality. The day I entered the judiciary, from day one, I knew I have to develop a constitutional conscience through the time.

What is the relationship between the BJP and RSS? Is the BJP a sister organisation of the RSS?

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advaniji were RSS people… they were borrowed by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Thus, the people started calling the BJP a sister organisation of the RSS. The BJP was earlier a cadre-based organisation, but now it’s not. People come from the BJP to the Trinamool Congress, TMC to the BJP.

What if you get an offer to join the BJP?

I won’t, I don’t like politics. It is not my cup of tea. I will not join politics.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently criticised a monk saying they are seeking votes in favour of BJP. Your take on that?

Monks do not align with political parties but if they do so, what harm are they doing? Instead of aligning with (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee, they are aligning with BJP, is this wrong? I do not find anything wrong in this. In Indian mythology, saints are true warriors. They have the quality to change society. If they think favouring BJP is equal to change to society, then very good. The BJP has not done anything wrong in ten years of its rule. It has brought India to a level which we had never seen. Everybody is questioning the BJP but what wrong has it done? Because of the fact that someone doesn’t like (Prime Minister) Modiji, it doesn’t mean the country is in the wrong hands or democracy is in danger. If there was no freedom of speech, how come so many journalists criticise PM Modi and no action has been taken?

You talked about returning to the Sangh. What role now are you willing to play for the RSS after retirement?

I would love to return. I would love to work for the Sangh. If they approach me, I will go. What role exactly I will play, I don’t know . I just want to say that since I have time, if they approach me, I will work for the Sangh.

In the recent past, former justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay joined the BJP.

It is his personal choice. He felt he should join politics and he did. I feel I will not join politics, it is my choice.