Today, in Supreme Court of India a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Aniruddha Bose issued a stay on the single-judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s order for a CBI probe.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has intervened in a complex legal dispute involving the Calcutta High Court, showcasing the intricate dynamics of judicial proceedings and the apex court’s role in maintaining legal order.
The controversy originated from a petition in the Calcutta High Court, highlighting the widespread issue of fake caste certificates in West Bengal, particularly used for securing medical seats. This led to a series of contentious orders and counter-orders between different benches of the High Court.
Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a single judge of the Calcutta High Court, initially ordered the West Bengal Police to surrender documents related to the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, this order was quickly stayed by a division bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar. Despite this, Justice Gangopadhyay, unaware of the stay, reiterated his directive to the Advocate General to proceed with the CBI investigation.
The situation escalated when Justice Gangopadhyay, on the following day, openly questioned the legitimacy of the division bench’s stay and accused Justice Sen of being an ‘interested party’ in the matter. He alleged that Justice Sen had influenced another judge, Justice Amrita Sinha, regarding the political future of Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, suggesting judicial restraint in matters affecting him.
In response, the division bench set aside Justice Gangopadhyay’s order and asked the High Court Registrar General to explain the delay in communicating their stay order to the single judge.
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, took suo motu cognizance of these unusual developments. In a special Saturday sitting with a five-judge bench, including Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Aniruddha Bose, the apex court stayed all proceedings of the Calcutta High Court in this matter.
Chief Justice Chandrachud stated,
“We will stay further proceedings. We are issuing notice to the State of West Bengal and the original petitioner before the HC. We will list the proceeding on Monday again. We will stay all further proceedings in the writ petition and the Letters Patent Appeal and the implementation of the single bench order referring the investigation to CBI.”
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the State of West Bengal, and Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, expressed their concerns over the single judge’s order.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta highlighted the irregularity of the division bench’s stay order, which was passed without a proper appeal memo, stating:
“I am more concerned about passing an order without an appeal memo or any impugned order in place. This court had under Article 141 has prohibited the same. I am not here defending either single judge or division bench order.”
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) responded,
“We do not want to make a prima facie determination. Sometimes there are exceptional circumstances.”
To this, the SG added,
“Yes, such as in cases of demolition or hanging.”
The Attorney General, R Venkataramani, pointed out,
“The division bench intervened based on an oral mentioning, and this should be noted.”
Ultimately, the Court issued notices to the State of West Bengal, the CBI, and the Calcutta High Court, and suspended all proceedings before the High Court.
The top court directed-
“Issue notice to the Calcutta High Court, State of West Bengal. Ms Astha Sharma accepts notice. Issue notice to original petitioner also. Pending further proceedings there shall be a stay on al proceedings before the Calcutta High Court before both division bench and the single-judge bench. The implementation of the direction issued by the single judge Justice Abhijit gangopadhyay directing CBI probe shall remain stayed.”
We will take charge now, the apex court orally said before posting the case for further hearing on January 29.
The Supreme Court’s intervention underscores the complexities of judicial processes and the necessity of maintaining procedural integrity. The case, now under the apex court’s scrutiny, awaits further developments as the legal fraternity and public closely watch this unfolding judicial drama.
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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