Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who resigned today as a judge of the Calcutta High Court, said he is joining the Bharatiya Janata Party soon. “Maybe on March 7, in the afternoon. There is a tentative program when I will join the BJP,” he said.
After quitting, he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a “very hardworking man”, while describing the ruling Trinamool Congress as corrupt, and Congress “the zamindari of one family”.
“Trinamool is imploding… it means corruption. PM Modi is a very hardworking man and he is trying to do something for this country,” he told reporters.
Justice Gangopadhyay announced on Sunday about his resignation on March 5. Addressing reporters outside the High Court on Tuesday, Justice Gangopadhyay said he has sent his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court TS Sivagnanam.
“I am going to meet the Chief Justice for a courtesy visit. I have already sent my resignation to the President,” he said.
“I am going to resign from the post of a judge in the Calcutta high court. For the last two or more years I have been dealing with some matters, especially education matters, regarding which a huge corruption has been discovered and unearthed. A large number of important persons in the education sector of this government are now languishing in jail, under trial,” he had told reporters on Sunday.
“…I am taking labour matters. There are also large scams of employers concerning provident fund gratuity, etc. I have also passed certain orders in those respects. But what I have failed while doing these matters of labour matters, labour legislation, that I have felt that my job in this duty is over. This is the call of my conscience,” Justice Gangopadhyay added.
Speculation is rife that Justice Gangopadhyay may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Bengal”s Tamluk constituency on a BJP ticket. Tamluk has been a stronghold of the ruling Trinamool Congress since the 2009 elections. The Tamluk constituency, previously represented by TMC-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari until his resignation in 2016, has been pivotal in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee”s political framework.
Born in Kolkata in 1962, Justice Gangopadhyay attended the Mitra Institution, a Bengali medium school in south Kolkata. Graduating from Hazra Law College in Kolkata, he embarked on his career as a West Bengal Civil Service Grade A officer in Uttar Dinajpur district before transitioning to practice as a state lawyer at the Calcutta High Court.
Elevated to the position of additional judge in 2018, Justice Gangopadhyay ascended to the status of a permanent judge two years later. However, his tenure has not been devoid of controversy.
In April last year, Justice Gangopadhyay courted controversy by giving an interview to a TV channel amid presiding over a case concerning the “school jobs for cash scam”. His remarks on TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee drew sharp rebuke from the Supreme Court, which deemed such engagements with media inappropriate for serving judges.
Justice Gangopadhyay”s directives to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate alleged irregularities in the recruitment processes of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools have also stirred heated debates.
In another incident last December, his decision to order the arrest of a lawyer in the courtroom on contempt charges during proceedings to the state”s Madrasah Service Commission ignited a furor, prompting the bar association to boycott all hearings involving the judge.
