Known as the ‘people’s judge’ by those who were illegally deprived of getting teaching jobs through the West Bengal School Service Commission, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay – who has ordered 10 investigations by the CBI in connection to the school jobs scam since 2021 – recently gave an interview to a news channel.
The interview made him the talk of the town, rare as it was for a judge to speak to a news channel at such length.
In the interview, Justice Gangopadhyay said that he is in favour of “strictest action” against anyone “who points a finger at the judiciary, otherwise, people will lose faith in the justice system”.
He also made some comments which immediately kickstarted debate and speculation.
“He (Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee) once commented on the judiciary. I was not in Kolkata then. I was in Ladakh. Sitting there, I thought I will issue a ruling against him, I will summon him, I will take action. Once back in Kolkata, I found that a petition was filed in this regard, but a division bench did not consider it. They thought he would get extra attention. But I have a different opinion.” Justice Gangopadhyay said in the interview, according to Indian Express.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek is understood to have criticised a “group of judges” who he believed had connections with and enjoyed the shelter of the BJP.
The sitting high court judge also emphasised that he has never compromised with corruption.
“I want to pass a few judgements which, long after I will not be there, will come up before a researchers who will know that there was a judge like this,” he said.
Justice Gangopadhyay was appointed as the Additional Judge of the Calcutta high court on May 2, 2018, and started functioning as a permanent judge of the high court on July 30, 2020. This is not the first time that Justice Gangopadhyay has been the centre of debate in political circles of the state.
He once asked journalists to videograph the proceedings of the courtroom after protests by a section of lawyers sympathetic to the state’s ruling party.
UNPRECEDENTED: Calcutta HC judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay who was at the forefront of bringing the SSC scam to light tells journalists in Court to make a video recording of the proceedings. Lawyers object saying videography is not allowed. Judge says “I am allowing it”. pic.twitter.com/ZrYlJ8cQNx
— Nalini (@nalinisharma_) August 18, 2022
He has also written to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta high court when his orders were stayed.
His latest orders for investigations by the CBI were directed at the irregularities in Group D, Group C, primary teacher, upper-primary teacher, and higher secondary teacher recruitments carried out by the West Bengal School Service Commission. Partha Chatterjee, a key minister in Mamata Banerjee’s government and heavyweight Trinamool Congress leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 23 as a result of investigations begun after the judge’s orders.
Also read: Bengal SSC Recruitment Scam: How a ‘Focused’ Judge Exposed the Racket
Another former minister Paresh Adhikary’s daughter lost her school teacher’s job which she had secured allegedly by illegal means.
The interview was telecast on September 17, 2022.
On the same day, a PIL was filed before a Calcutta high court division bench, headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, seeking to stop the telecast of Justice Gangopadhyay’s interview later in the evening. The bench, however, dismissed the plea.
In its order, the bench said, “We have full faith that honourable judge/judges of this court will have due regard to the same while making any statement at any occasion. The same is the position in respect of Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.”
The Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct are intended to establish standards for the ethical conduct of judges. They are also meant to assist members of the executive and the legislature, lawyers, and the public, to better understand and support the judiciary.
After the telecast, stakeholders across the state’s judicial spectrum shied away from making any comments on the matter. Even political parties including Trinamool Congress have refused to comment on the interview.
Differences and public spats between the ruling party and judiciary in West Bengal have occurred in the past also.
In the early 2000s, the city of Kolkata was used to experiencing severe traffic jams. One day, the then Justice of the Calcutta high court Amitava Lala was caught in the jam, due to a rally organised by the ruling CPI(M). Justice Lala took up the case suo motu and bore down on the ruling party during the proceedings of the case.
When CPI(M) leader Biman Bose said, “Ebar jodi bola hoy Amitava Lala, Bangla chere pala (Amitava Lala please leave the state)?”, Justice Lala ruled against Bose for contempt of court. In the end, Bose appeared in court and apologised for the remark.
However, the picture is different now. While political and legal opinion may be divided on whether a sitting high Court judge can give interviews to a television news channel for the lakhs of job seekers in Bengal, the judge’s crusade against corruption has been singular.
