Today(29 Jan,2024), the Supreme Court refrained from making any comments on the dispute among the High Court judges and limited its focus of transferring the High Court proceedings to its jurisdiction. The case originated from a petition submitted to the High Court, which claimed the issuance of fraudulent caste certificates in West Bengal.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has taken a decisive step in addressing the escalating judicial conflict within the Calcutta High Court. A 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court, Today(January 29,2024) transferred to itself the case from the Calcutta High Court. This move comes in the wake of a controversial situation where Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court defied a stay order issued by a division bench, leading to a complex legal tussle.
The root of this conflict lies in a petition filed in the Calcutta High Court concerning the issuance of fake caste certificates in West Bengal. Justice Gangopadhyay initially ordered a CBI inquiry, despite the absence of such a request in the petition. However, this order was promptly stayed by a division bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar. Ignoring the stay, Justice Gangopadhyay proceeded to hand over the case papers to the CBI, further complicating the matter.
The Supreme Court, today, refrained from making any comments on the apparent clash between Justices Gangopadhyay and Sen, observing that any such comment would affect the dignity of the High Court’s proceedings.
“Casting aspersions on single judge or division bench would not be proper. Anything we say will have effect on impinging the dignity of the high court. we will handle it in some way,”
-CJI Chandrachud.
Court added-
“We will transfer the proceedings in the writ petition and the letters patent appeal to the Supreme Court. We will list it after a while and deal with it. … The plea under Article 226 and letters patent appeal to be transferred to this court. Let pleadings be completed meanwhile.”
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared on behalf of State of West Bengal, said-
“Justice Gangopadhyay is continuing to take such matters.. He will continue doing the same thing,”
The Supreme Court today, however, decided not to comment on the tussle between the High Court judges and confined the hearing to only transferring the High Court proceedings to itself.
“There is a Chief justice of the High Court who is allocating cases. Let us not arrogate his powers,”
-the CJI added.
This unprecedented situation in the Indian judiciary underscores the complexities and challenges within the legal system. The Supreme Court’s intervention aims to resolve these issues, ensuring the integrity and proper functioning of the judicial process. The case, is set to be listed after three weeks, marking a crucial juncture in this ongoing legal saga.
BACKGROUND
The situation escalated when Justice Gangopadhyay, in a subsequent order, suggested that the division bench’s judgment should be disregarded. He accused Justice Sen of being an “interested party” and alleged that Justice Sen had influenced another judge, Justice Amrita Sinha, regarding the political future of Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. In response, Justice Sen criticized Justice Gangopadhyay’s order and instructed the CBI to return the case papers to the State.
Recognizing the gravity of this judicial rift, the Supreme Court, in a special Saturday hearing led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and a five-judge bench, intervened by staying the proceedings before both the single-judge and division bench of the High Court. Additionally, the Supreme Court stayed the order for the CBI probe passed by Justice Gangopadhyay and sought responses from the Calcutta High Court and the West Bengal government.
During the Supreme Court proceedings, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the State of West Bengal, expressed concerns about the single judge’s repeated actions, questioning the future course of action. Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, reminded the bench of a previous Supreme Court order concerning a television interview given by the single judge on a sub judice matter.
Chief Justice Chandrachud urged the lawyers to maintain decorum, emphasizing the importance of not casting aspersions on judges and preserving the dignity of the High Court. He also highlighted the role of the Chief Justice of the High Court in allocating cases, cautioning against overstepping his authority.
The State of West Bengal filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the single bench’s order for a CBI investigation. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing a federation of SC/ST students, indicated plans to file a separate petition highlighting alleged irregularities in medical admissions in the State based on false caste certificates.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta criticized the manner in which the Division Bench passed the stay order, noting the absence of a proper appeal memo. The division bench had initially stayed the single bench’s order for a CBI probe, reasoning that such a probe was not requested in the original writ petition and that the State should be allowed to complete its investigation.
In a bold move, Justice Gangopadhyay labeled the division bench’s stay order as illegal and void ab initio, accusing Justice Sen of misconduct and political bias. He asserted that the division bench had no authority to consider the appeal without a server copy of the single-bench order or memo of appeal, thereby challenging the legality of the division bench’s actions.
Case: In Re: Orders Of Calcutta High Court dated 24.01.2024 and 25.01.2024 and ancillary issues.
Case No: SWM(C) No 1/2024
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