“Will continue to raise my voice against corruption”: Calcutta HC judge reacts to SC order

A day after the Supreme Court ordered that proceedings in the West Bengal teachers’ recruitment’scam’ be reassigned to another judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court, who was leading a single-judge bench investigating these cases, said he will continue to speak out against “corruption.”

Several Trinamool Congress heavyweights, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, are currently imprisoned for alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers for government schools in the state. Hundreds of aspiring teachers have been staging a sit-in in the heart of Kolkata for several months, claiming that despite passing the teachers’ recruitment exam, they were not drafted. They also claimed that several undeserving candidates were hired as teachers despite performing poorly on the exam in exchange for kickbacks.

Taking note of an interview Justice Ganguly gave to a vernacular news channel in which he allegedly shared details of the ongoing cases pertaining to the teachers’ recruitment scam,’ a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud issued the order on Friday.

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, Justice Gangopadhyay stated, “This is not my decision.” The Supreme Court ordered that the case be transferred from my bench. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country, and we must all follow its decisions.”

On whether the order has dealt a blow to the protesting teaching aspirants on the streets demanding jobs, Justice Gangopadhyay stated, “Even if some are disheartened or disappointed by the order, there’s not much that can be done as we all have to respect the Supreme Court’s direction.”

“As long as I am in the service of justice, I’ll continue to raise my voice against irregularities and corruption,” Justice Gangopadhyay told reporters here. In his message to the protesting job-seekers, Justice Ganguly said, “I would advise them to be patient as the matter is still in court and has only been shifted to a different judge.”

In his opinion on the apex court order, he added, “I still haven’t examined the order. I will come to a proper understanding of it once the lawyers come and give their submissions (in the matter).”

Previously, on Friday, after reviewing the transcript of Justice Gangopadhyay’s interview with a news channel, said Justice Gangopadhyay could not hold any further hearings in the matter and directed the Calcutta High Court’s Acting Chief Justice to reassign proceedings related to the alleged recruitment scam to another judge.