From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday took offence at Justice Abhijit Gangapadhyay, a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, giving an interview to a local TV news channel regarding Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee while a case concerning him is still being heard by the High Court.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha stated that judges have no business giving television interviews on pending matters, and if they were to do so, the concerned judge could not hear the case discussed. SC has called for a report from the Calcutta High Court in this regard.
“The registrar general of Calcutta HC is directed to personally verify from Justice Ganguly as to whether he had been interviewed by ABP Bangla’s Suman De and in that event clarify. The Registrar General shall file affidavit before Friday before Registar Judicial of this court,” the Supreme Court ordered.
It added that if Justice Gangopadhyay had in fact participated in the interview, he could not hear the school-for-jobs case and a different bench would have had to take up the matter.
“If he has done so, then he cannot participate anymore (in the hearing). We will not touch the investigation but when a judge who gives opinion on the petitioner on tv debate, then he cannot hear it. The High Court Chief Justice then has to constitute a new bench. But this is a case about a political personality and we entertained this on the way judge handled this matter. This cannot be the way.”
The SC was hearing an appeal by Banerjee against the High Court’s order calling for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into his alleged role in irregularities in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff at government schools.
Banerjee had alleged that persons in ED and CBI custody were pressured into naming him as part of the case. Another accused in the case, Kuntal Ghosh, had also alleged that he was being pressured by investigators to take the name of Banerjee.
Banerjee in his plea highlighted that Justice Gangopadhyay, who passed the order, had expressed his dislike for the TMC leader in an interview given to a news channel last September. It was also claimed that the judge had made remarks against Supreme Court judges who were hearing appeals against his order in the case. This was after the apex court had earlier called for an interim stay on the High Court order for CBI and ED probes against the accused.
