Calcutta HC admits plea against Mamata

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday admitted a contempt of court petition against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks alleging corruption in judiciary.

Hearing a petition, filed by Advocate Bikash Bhattacharya, Division bench of Justice Kalyan Jyoti Banerjee and Justice A K Mondal gave three weeks time for the four media houses, where her statement was published, to file affidavit on this.

Meanwhile, Mamata’s statement has evoked wide range of criticism. Congress MP and Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi’s spouse Deepa Dasmunshi, while talking to media slammed Mamata and said, “To me it's not good for the society and for the people.”

Emphasising on the importance of each pillar of democracy, she said, “If one pillar criticises the another, then obviously there is a problem in the society. If somebody on her own, a chief minister who is the administrative head of the state is saying or putting blame on judiciary, obviously it will make a lot of difference in Bengal and in the country.” West Bengal Pradesh Congress President Prof. Pradip Bhattacharjee too criticized Chief Minister’s irresponsible statement, in which she has reportedly accepted that her statements ‘may attract cases and I may have to go to Jail’.

Addressing a seminar on August 13, the concluding day of the Platinum Jubilee Celebration of West Bengal Assembly, attended by parliamentarians and who’s who of the society including speakers from other states, Chief Minister remarked, “at times, favourable verdicts are given in return for money. There are instances when judgments have been purchased. There is corruption among a section of the judiciary. I know there can be a case against me for saying this. But this must be said and I am ready to go to jail for saying so.” 

Earlier on Thursday, a group of advocates moved at the Division bench of Chief Justice J N Patel and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi requesting to start suo motu proceedings against Mamata. The Court refused the proposal for a suo motu proceeding and observed that these were her personal comments and that the court was not perturbed by such comments. The Bench rather asked the advocates to file a petition, which was later filed at the Division Bench, headed by Justice KJ Sengupta. Justices K J Sengupta and AK Mondal asked two newspapers and two news channels, whose copies were presented in the court, to file affidavits within three weeks, on the basis of which the Court would decide whether to initiate action against Mamata or not, sources in High Court said.

Advocates were more aggrieved at the way Chief Minister targeted former Supreme Court Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly, Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission, after Justice Ganguly slapped Rs 100,000 penalty on the state in Cartoon Case, in which a Professor of Jadavpur University Ambikesh Mahapatra and his neighbour were arrested. The state Human Rights Commission order was issued just a day before Chief Minister spilled the venom against judiciary.

While delivering her speech at the Seminar, held at Assembly Building, without naming Justice Ganguly, Mamata said, "We got a very good person... He is not associated with my party or any party... but what happened? Oh my god! He has no idea! He is writing (orders) as if he is the Supreme Court Chief Justice! Or, the President of India. He doesn't know what is his jurisdiction or his authority!"