Supreme Court asks Calcutta HC chief justice to reassign WB teacher recruitment scam case to another bench

Hearing a plea by Banerjee, who said that the judge had made certain remarks against him in an interview to ABP Ananda, the Supreme Court had on April 24 sought a report on this from the Registrar General of the Calcutta High Court. The bench presided by CJI Chandrachud perused the report Friday and directed that the case be reassigned to another judge.

“Pursuant to the order of this court dated April 24, 2023, the Registry has placed affidavit dated April 27, 2023, filed by the Registrar General of the High Court of Calcutta….We have considered the note prepared by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay….and have also perused the transcript of the interview. The transcript has been authenticated on April 26, 2023, by the interpreting officer…Having considered the transcript, we direct that the Hon’ble Acting Chief Justice of the HC of Calcutta shall reassign the pending proceedings in the case to some other judge of the Calcutta HC,” the bench said.

The bench also comprising Justice P S Narasimha said that “the judge to whom the proceedings are reassigned…would be at liberty to take up all applications which may be moved in that regard”.

Soon after the order, Solicitor General Mehta complained to the court that he had to inform the court about something “disquieting”.

“There is a pattern going on. Whenever an order goes against a particular dispensation or person, judges are targeted. Before Justice Gangopadhyay, there was one more judge. I am not naming him. His courtroom was virtually blocked, not allowing him to come out. Even in the court of Justice Gangopadhyay, people went with paperweights and slippers. Posters were pasted outside the house of another judge. This sends a very demoralising message to the judiciary…Please say something which may not have a demoralising effect…Let them (judges) remain emboldened and neutral that Your Lordships are sitting here. And they would not be cowed down by people barging into the courtroom and abusing judges….”, said Mehta.

He added that the “petitioner (Banerjee) in this case, at a public rally, criticised a judge and threatened him. That is not acceptable”.

The CJI responded, “Judges take on very very difficult and arduous duty. Sometimes we also have to do that function. We do it every day. The only reason why we are transferring the proceeding to some other judge, asking the CJ to reassign the case…is because of the transcript of the interview. Nothing else.”

Mehta urged the Supreme Court to do something to protect the system.

Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar said, “My Lords is sitting as the head of the judicial institution. Any judge in this country, in any court, should not be cowed down. As the head of the institution, My Lords will make it sure that the judges don’t feel they are cowed down.” Kumar urged the CJI to call for a report from the high court.

“Either by physical aggression or by character assassination,” said Mehta, adding that it is “very disturbing”. Such developments, he said, should not embolden others to do the same thing to judges.

The CJI said, “No effort anywhere in the country should be made to browbeat judges. Because judges necessarily work to the call of conscience and to answer the call of duty. Undoubtedly, there is no question about that. And if as the CJI, I come across that, we will take it up on the administrative side.”