Calcutta High Court Archives

Jadavpur University Student Death: Plea Against Ragging Filed In Calcutta HC; NHRC Issues Notice To West Bengal Chief Secy

The Calcutta High Court on Monday granted permission to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding ragging in educational institutions. This came against the backdrop of a first-year Jadavpur University student’s death last week.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal calling for a report into the matter. “The Commission has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal calling for a report on the matter within four weeks. It should include the reasons for the prima facie failure of the institution to take adequate steps to prevent ragging in accordance with the UGC regulation, and the steps taken or proposed to punish the perpetrators of the ragging including its abettors and sympathizers,” the NHRC said in a press release.

The Chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) has said that the statutory body is preliminarily of the opinion that the case should be dealt under the provisions of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) as it has emerged that the deceased was under 18 years of age.

“We have asked for an FIR copy filed after his fall from the balcony and his death from the police. We have also perused his other documents including age-related ones. And going by the chain of events, as narrated, leading to the death of the minor, prima facie we have reason to suggest that it be dealt with under POCSO,” WBCPCR chief Sudeshna Roy was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

So far, a total of three accused have been arrested in connection with the case. One of the arrested individuals has been identified as Sourabh Chowdhury, an ex-student of the Kolkata-based university. As per reports, he had completed his MSc in Mathematics in 2022 and was living in the hostel illegally.

Source: https://english.jagran.com/india/jadavpur-university-student-death-plea-against-ragging-filed-in-calcutta-hc-nhrc-issues-notice-to-west-bengal-chief-secy-10093765

Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Transfer Of Three Calcutta High Court Judges

The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on 3 August 2023, has recommended the transfer of 3 Calcutta High Court judges.

The Collegium, consisting of Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, has recommended the names of the following 3 judges of the Calcutta High Court:

Justice Shekhar B. Saraf (Proposed to be transferred to Allahabad High Court)

By a letter dated 7 August 2023, Justice Shekhar B Saraf accepted the proposal for his transfer, however, he requested a reconsideration of the proposed transfer and in the alternative, requested to consider transferring him to any of the places i.e. Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chandigarh.

However, the Collegium did not find any merit in the requests made by him and therefore, it resolved to reiterate its recommendation to transfer him to the Allahabad High Court.

Notably, Justice Shekhar B Saraf had recently delivered a scathing judgement against Indian Railways officials due to their ‘fraudulent’ conduct in arbitration proceedings, as well as another judgement against the lack of accountability between Government officials.

Source: https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-collegium-recommends-transfer-three-calcutta-high-court-judges-234933

Judges Have No Business Granting Interviews On Pending Matter: Supreme Court Seeks Clarification From Calcutta HC Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay

The Supreme Court, while hearing the plea challenging the order passed by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court through which he had directed the CBI and the ED to question TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for the Primary Teachers’ Recruitment Scam case, orally remarked that judges had no right to give TV interviews on pending matters. The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha.

In the last hearing, the Apex Court had directed a stay on all actions against Banerjee in pursuance of the directions passed by Justice Gangopadhyay. Today, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Banerjee urged the court to take into account Justice Gangopadhyay’s interview with ABP Ananda wherein he allegedly spoke against Banerjee. Singhvi argued–

“With the greatest respect and humility, this just cannot be done…This was said in presence of our lawyers. The single judge has not clarified or revoked the statement.”

After reading the statement, CJI DY Chandrachud, while dictating the order sought clarification as to whether the purported statements were made by the single judge or not. The court ordered–

“The petitioner has annexed a translated transcript of an interview of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on a TV Channel ABP Ananda. Registrar General of Calcutta HC is directed to clarify from the judge as to whether he had been interviewed by Mr Suman De. The registrar general is directed to file his affidavit before this court on or before Friday. We’ll list on Friday.”

Source: https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/judges-have-no-business-granting-interviews-on-pending-matter-supreme-court-seeks-clarification-from-calcutta-hc-justice-abhijit-gangopadhyay-227057

Calcutta High Court orders CBI probe into Birbhum violence, says not happy with SIT

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday asked the CBI to probe the Birbhum violence in which eight persons were killed, allegedly in a backlash following the murder of a local Trinamool Congress leader.

The order was passed after the Bench took suo motu notice of the issue. Besides, certain PILs had also been filed before the court seeking a CBI probe into the incident.

The court explained that the order was in the interest of justice, to instil confidence, and to ensure a fair investigation.

The court also turned down the request by the State to stay the order to enable it to file an appeal against the same.

According to High Court sources, the division bench voiced its ‘displeasure’ over the functioning of the Special Investigation Team instituted by the state government. Therefore, the CBI has been asked to take the probe further and submit a report by April 7.

One of the petitioners, Kaustuv Bagchi, said that the division bench also slammed the police for not reaching the crime scene on time. “The police station is very close to the site of the arson but even then the police didn’t make an intervention. The court had asked the CBI to take cognizance of whether the police had reached the venue first or the fire brigade?’’ Bagchi said citing the proceedings inside the court.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/legal/calcutta-high-court-orders-cbi-probe-into-birbhum-violence