Lasting lessons from the Justice Gangopadhyay episode
Published on: 9 July 2023, 06:32 am
In April, after the Supreme Court had withdrawn the teacher recruitment scam petitions from Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay for speaking to the media about how he would rule in the case, Justice Gangopadhyay passed a suo motu Order directing the Supreme Court's secretary general to send to him the translation of the interview relied on by the Supreme Court. Later that day, the Supreme Court stayed this Order, questioning the high court judge's judicial discipline.
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A controversial Order passed on April 28, 2023 by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court reminds one of the infamous episode of retired Justice C.S. Karnan from 2017.
In his Order, Justice Gangopadhyay has said, "For the sake of transparency, I direct the secretary general of the Supreme Court of India to produce before me the report and the official translation of the interview given by me in media and the affidavit of the registrar general of this court in original, forthwith by 12 midnight today.
"This is required for the sake of transparency, I will be waiting in my chamber till 12:15 in the midnight to get the said two sets in original which were placed before the judges of the Supreme Court today."
Background
A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta High Court pertaining to the investigation in the matter of the irregularities and corruption with respect to the recruitment of assistant teachers in primary schools of West Bengal through the teacher's eligibility test conducted in 2014.