West Bengal : The Supreme Court issued a stay on all proceedings before the Calcutta High Court stemming from an unusual situation where a single judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, declared a division bench’s ruling as unlawful. A five-judge Constitution bench, comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant, and Aniruddha Bose, decided to address the matter on Monday after taking it up suo motu.
“We are issuing notice to West Bengal, the original petitioner…We will halt all proceedings related to the writ petition, Letter Patent Appeal, and the order for a CBI probe,” the bench stated.
The Centre, represented by Attorney General R Venkatramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, raised concerns about the legality of the procedure where the division bench stayed the single bench’s order without an appeal.
“We won’t make a prima facie determination at this stage; sometimes, in exceptional circumstances… it can be done,” the bench remarked.
Mehta highlighted instances such as hanging or demolition where such actions could be warranted.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing West Bengal, announced intentions to file an appeal against the orders issued by the single judge on January 24 and 25, 2024.
Mehta added that they would submit a note to assist the court regarding legal procedures.
The unusual events unfolded in the Calcutta High Court on January 25, a day after a larger bench suspended Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s directive for a CBI investigation into MBBS admission irregularities in West Bengal.
On January 26, the Supreme Court registered the suo motu case as ‘In Re: Orders of Calcutta High Court Dated 24.01.2024 and 25.01.2024 and Ancillary Issues.’
In his January 25 order, Justice Gangopadhyay labeled the division bench’s ruling as unlawful. The division bench, led by Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Uday Kumar, had stayed the CBI probe directive on January 24, stating that the state government should conduct its investigation.
In response, Justice Gangopadhyay accused Justice Sen of misconduct, alleging favoritism toward a political party in power. He criticized the lack of a proper appeals process and accused Justice Sen of defying a transfer order issued more than two years ago.
Justice Gangopadhyay appealed to the Chief Justice of India to investigate the matter, citing an incident involving Justice Sen allegedly influencing another judge.
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