The Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal has objected to the Calcutta High Court judge who is to hear Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s plea challenging the result of the Nandigram constituency in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Thursday filed a case in the High Court challenging the results of the Nandigram Assembly polls. The case came up in a single bench of Justice Kaushik Chand on Friday. According to some Calcutta High Court lawyers, Justice Chanda was an “active member” of the BJP. So a section of lawyers protested in the High Court premises on Friday against the case being raised in his court.
Lawyers demonstrated peacefully with black masks and posters in hand. One of the posters read, “Don’t do politics with the judiciary.” Coincidentally, the case was not heard on Friday. Justice Chand said the petitioner (in this case Chief Minister Mamata) should be present in court. The judge directed that the case will be heard a week later, next Thursday.
Besides, Justice Kaushik Chanda asked whether Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be present.
Since this is a slightly important case, the day has been chosen to hear this case from the beginning next Thursday. On the other hand, litigants usually have to be present in election-related cases.
Justice Kaushik Chand asked, “Can she attend the hearing?”
Mamata’s lawyers said, “We will see if she can be present virtually.” However, the case will have another dimension if the Chief Minister appears in person.
Nevertheless, the hearing of the case was postponed but the protest did not stop. Achintyakumar Bandyopadhyay, speaking on behalf of the protesting lawyers, said, “Kaushik Chanda was once an active member of the BJP. If such an important political case goes to his bench, questions will arise in the minds of the common people about the judiciary. We demand that the case be sent to another bench.”
The protesters also questioned why the case was referred to the bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda, despite knowing the “political significance” of the case. Trinamool state general secretary Kunal Ghosh tweeted about this. Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien also tweeted.
Mamata Banerjee’s lawyer has written a letter to the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court Rajesh Bindal seeking removal of the case from Kaushik Chand’s court.
Citing Justice Kaushik Chand’s history, Mamata claimed that Kaushik Chanda was an active BJP activist while he was a lawyer. The chief minister has demanded that the verdict be biased if he tries the case.
In a letter to the Acting Chief Justice, Mamata reminded that the consent of the Chief Minister is required when a lawyer becomes a judge.
The message had reached the Chief Minister when Kaushik Chanda was promoted from lawyer to judge.
Since Justice Kaushik Chanda was an active BJP supporter, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had objected to his promotion to the post of Justice.