New Delhi: In a major blow to Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court, a division bench of Supreme Court comprising of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha observed that judges had no right to give television interviews on pending matters.
The verbal remark came from the chief justice of India DY Chandrachud who was hearing a plea challenging an order passed by Gangopadhyay who directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Primary Teachers' Recruitment Scam case.
The court was responding to a submission of Banerjee’s advocate Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi who urged the court to take into account of Justice Gangopadhyay's interview with a popular Bengali news channel, in which he allegedly spoke against Banerjee. Singhvi argued that the statement was made infront of the lawyers and a single judge has not clarified or revoked the statement. “With the greatest respect and humility, this just cannot be done..,” Singhvi argued.
After reading the statement, CJI DY Chandrachud sought clarification as to whether the purported statements were made by the single judge or not. The court ordered the registrar general of the Calcutta High Court to clarify from the judge whether he had been interviewed and directed him to file an affidavit before the court on or before Friday. without getting into the merit of the case, the court stated that it would list the case for further hearing on Friday.
While departing with the order, CJI DY Chandrachud made an oral remark that the court was not getting into the merits of the case yet, but it was crucial to know if Justice Gangopadhyay had granted the said interview or not. He also stated that judges had no business granting interviews on matters that were pending. He further questioned whether a judge who had made statements about a political personality should be allowed to participate in the hearings, and there had to be some process.
It should be mentioned that in the previous hearing, the apex court had directed a stay on all actions against Banerjee pursuant to the directions passed by Justice Gangopadhyay. The Calcutta High Court had directed that Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, be questioned by the ED and the CBI and that such "interrogation should be made soon." The High court issued the order in a case related to the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools.
The Primary Teachers' Recruitment Scam case is a significant political issue in West Bengal, where the TMC is in power. The case pertains to the recruitment of primary teachers during the previous Left Front government's tenure in the state. The BJP has been trying to corner the TMC over the issue, and Banerjee's alleged involvement has provided the saffron party with an opportunity to attack the TMC's leadership.
