Accessing Justice: Step by Step
A decision on the continuance of online hearings must be taken using the rights of lawyers and litigants as the pivot, and not technology, argues Ayushi Singhal
Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court today frowned upon alleged “interest” of the now deposed president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education and arrested Trinamul Congress legislator Manik Bhattacharya with the agency engaged in evaluation of the OMR sheets during his tenure and also asked the CBI to interrogate him regarding setting up of additional panel.
He also asked the central agency to start a departmental inquiry against the CBI Officer removed from the SIT on charges of dereliction of duty as he observed that the officer removed was not fit for any govt agency.
Justice Gangopadhyay’s recent ire and his caustic observation against the central agency stemmed from the alleged failure to arrest Bhattacharya in the first place and its shoddy probe till date.
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Justice Gangopadhyay even said that at times he feels that he himself will have to handle the investigation and send a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this count.
“The CBI seems to be bogus. It seems that I will have to personally handle the investigation and send a report to the Prime Minister. Does the investigation process need to be handed over to British intelligence agency MI5,” Justice Gangopadhyay asked, as he sought the property details of the members of the CBI SIT.
The judge also threatened to hand over the probe to the DIG CID in place of the CBI.
Rap also came from another justice of the Calcutta High Court Biswajit Basu on the other day on account of its staggered probe and had made a strong observation against its capability, which he observed was not desirable. Earlier too, Justice Gangopadhyay had fired two officers of the SIT of the CBI in connection with its tardy probe in the Group C and D recruitment scam.
Meanwhile, a row was brewing regarding his observation over an actress’s alleged act of constructing a flat, dismantling three flats and asked the Enforcement Directorate to furnish the name of the actress to his court, filing an affidavit about it.
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