A rare dispute arose between a division bench and a single judge in the Calcutta high court on a CBI investigation into a purported bogus caste certificate scam, and the Supreme Court halted all proceedings before the two benches. January 24 and 25, the two benches chastised each other in succession. The case was heard in a special session by a five-judge constitution bench that included Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Aniruddha Bose. The matter was continued for hearing on January 29.
The division bench’s order in a case involving alleged irregularities in the admission of MBBS candidates in state-run medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal was deemed “illegal and ignored” by the Calcutta high court’s single bench, which passed the order on Friday.
A Central Bureau of Investigation investigation into the subject had been ordered by the single bench, but it had been stopped by the high court’s division bench.
On a plea submitted by MBBS candidate Itisha Soren, the single bench of judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay first ordered a CBI investigation into the alleged anomalies in the admission of MBBS candidates in medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal, stating that it had no faith in the state police.
Later, the Calcutta High Court’s division bench was relocated by the West Bengal government. The single bench’s order for the CBI investigation into the matter was then halted by the division bench of justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar.
Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s one-judge bench ruled on Thursday that the division bench’s directive was completely unlawful and needed to be disregarded.
Judge Gangopadhyay took up the case as well, questioning the advocate general on how a division bench could have issued an order of stay in the absence of the contested ruling and how an order could have been issued in the absence of an appeal letter.
Justice Gangopadhyay, in his order, has accused justice Sen, who is heading the division bench, of acting for a political party in the state, and therefore, the orders passed by the bench led by justice Sen are required to be relooked if the Supreme Court thinks so.
“I have no other option but to ignore the order of the said Division Bench as the order has been passed in continuation of the illegal appeal void ab initio. I have ignored the said illegal order passed by the said Division Bench for the reasons as has been stated above including the ground of ‘interested person’ Hon’ble Justice Soumen Sen… “Thus, Justice Sen is acting clearly for some political party in this State and, therefore, the orders passed in the matters involving State, are required to be relooked if the Hon’ble Supreme Court thinks so,” justice Gangopadhyay said.
