Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, whose rulings on various education-related issues in West Bengal stirred political debates, has said he will take a call on which political party to join after he announced he will resign from his post on Tuesday.
His remarks came amid speculation that he could be fielded by the BJP as their candidate from West Bengal’s Tamluk parliamentary constituency, a seat which was once represented by Suvendu Adhikari and now held by his brother Dibyendu Adhikari.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Justice Gangopadhyay said he wanted to serve people as it was the “call of my conscience”.
“I am resigning from the post of a judge in the Calcutta High Court… This is the call of my conscience. Now, I should go to the larger people and larger area. In court, a judge deals with the matters which come before him if a person files a case. But in our country and also in our state, West Bengal, there are a large number of very helpless people,” he said.
Justice Gangopadhyay believed that entering politics “can give people who want to take steps in respect of those helpless people a chance to act for them”.
He said he had been dealing with education-related issues for the past two years and “a huge corruption was discovered and unearthed”.
“A large number of important people in the education sector of this government are now languishing in jail or are under trial. Thereafter, I am now taking up labour matters. There are also large scams by employers in respect of provident fund gratuity. I have also passed certain orders in those respects. But what I have failed while doing these matters of labour matters, labour legislation, is that I have felt that my job in this duty, my job is over,” he said.
JUSTICE GANGOPADHYAY’S RESIGNATION ANNOUNCEMENT
On Sunday, Justice Gangopadhyay said he will send his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu, the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
“These days I will not do any justice work, I will just remove all the cases listed with me,” he said.
He said he will answer all queries of journalists at 1:30 pm on Tuesday in front of legendary freedom fighter Masterda Surya Sen’s statue in front of the high court buildings after tendering his resignation.
In 2022, Justice Gangopadhyay directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff in government schools in West Bengal.
Last year, Justice Gangopadhyay drew the Supreme Court’s ire after he gave an interview to a news channel about the pending case relating to the teachers’ recruitment scam. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud then ordered the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to reassign the case to another judge.
Justice Gangopadhyay, who practised law at the High Court, joined the Calcutta High Court as an additional judge on May 2, 2018. He was elevated as permanent judge on July 30, 2020, according to data on the High Court’s website.
OPPOSITION REACTS
Speaking on Justice Gangopadhyay’s decision to quit as a Calcutta High Court judge, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “If sitting judges of the High Court and Supreme Court resign and join a particular political party, it means they were not delivering justice, but working for the party.”
His party colleague Priyanka Chaturvedi voiced similar sentiments and urged Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud to take note.
“A serving HC Judge has decided to quit, join BJP and likely to contest on their ticket for Lok Sabha. No cooling off period, no attempt to even try and prove to have been neutral but yes least total clarity on serving self driven political interests. Will CJI, collegium take note?” she wrote on X on Monday.
(with inputs from agencies)
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