The Calcutta High Court recently dismissed an application filed by Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee seeking to recall an order passed by Justice Abhijit Banerjee ordering a CBI and ED investigation into him in the West Bengal teachers recruitment scam.
A single bench led by Justice Amrita Sinha dismissed the plea of arrested accused Kuntal Ghosh, who claimed that he was tortured by ED officers in order to implicate Abhishek Banerjee in the case.
The Court also imposed costs of Rs 25 lakh on each of them.
“Both the applications are dismissed, with costs of ₹50 lakh. Each one has to deposit ₹25 lakh,” Justice Sinha directed.
The single judge also pulled up the CBI and the ED for its slow pace in the investigations.
“Whatever that is mentioned in the sealed envelopes is of pre-historic age. The agencies have given details of what happened in 2022 but we are in 2023. No new and recent development is mentioned in these envelopes. Are the agencies waiting for the evidences to be vanished?” Justice Sinha told the advocates representing both CBI and ED.
The bench was hearing applications filed by Banerjee and Ghosh challenging Justice Gangopadhyay’s April 13 order ordering the CBI and ED to investigate Banerjee’s role in the scam.
The order was passed in response to an ED plea seeking protection from State Police action against its officers after the accused Ghosh made some allegations against the ED officers. He claimed that the officers were torturing him and forcing him to implicate Banerjee in the case.
Justice Gangopadhyay had noted that Ghosh’s allegations coincided with Banerjee’s March 29 public speech, in which he also claimed that people arrested in the case are being forced to name him.
Following the Apex Court’s directions, the case was later transferred to Justice Amrita Sinha.
On April 28, the Top Court directed the High Court Chief Justice to reassign the case from Justice Gangopadhyay’s bench to another, citing the judge’s interview with ABP Ananda against Banerjee.
The High Court issued a notification on May 1, in response to the Supreme Court’s order, and the case was assigned to Justice Sinha.
Appearing for the TMC Leader, Senior advocate Kishore Datta stated that the ED made no prayer or pleading against his client in its application before Justice Gangopadhyay.
The ED’s application, which was heard by Justice Gangopadhyay, was not for a probe against Banerjee, but rather addressed Ghosh’s complaints against some investigating officers, he added.
The counsel argued that judges cannot hear cases that are not on the roster, citing Supreme Court orders.
“If the judge in the instant case desired that the present matter be heard by him, he could have at best passed an order to place the case papers before the Chief Justice for transferring cases to himself. But such a thing never happened in the instant case,” he contended.
To this, Justice Sinha responded by stating,
Please note that the Supreme Court has removed the matter from that judge’s (Justice Gangopadhyay’s) board. This doesn’t add to the glory of our High Court. It doesn’t add to the glory of our traditions. A transfer is done in rare cases and not in the usual course. The top court has taken stern action against the judge for his conduct. All this reflects bias on his part.”
