The Supreme Court on Saturday paused all proceedings before the two benches of the Calcutta High Court, which witnessed a rare conflict between a single judge and a division bench over a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged fake caste certificates scam.
In a special sitting, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, took note of the the allegations of 'misconduct' levelled by Calcutta High Court Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay against fellow judge Soumen Sen.
Justice Gangopadhyay has accused Justice Sen of "acting clearly for some political party in this state" and intimidating another judge in favour of a political leader in West Bengal.
During the special hearing, the Supreme Court issued notice to the CBI and sought the West Bengal government's response in the matter.
ABOUT JUDGE VS JUDGE
However, the Trinamool Congress-led Bengal government moved the division bench of Justice Sen, which ordered an interim stay on the single bench order.
Later, Justice Gangopadhyay directed that the investigation by the CBI would continue despite the division bench order.
Justice Gangopadhyay directed the registrar general of the High Court to send a copy of this order to the Chief Justice of India forthwith and to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. He also alleged that Justice Sen was acting upon personal interest in a bid to shield "some political party in power" in Bengal.
"Justice Sen is acting clearly for some political party in this state and, therefore, the orders passed in the matters involving the state, are required to be relooked if the Hon’ble Supreme Court thinks so," Justice Gangopadhyay said.
"What Justice Sen has done today is to advance the cause of his personal interest to save some political party in power in this state. Therefore, his actions clearly tantamount to misconduct," he added.
WHAT IS THE FAKE CASTE CERTIFICATE CASE?
The case was initially brought before Justice Gangopadhyay on the morning of January 24.
In response, the judge not only criticised the West Bengal Police and the West Bengal government but also issued an order for a CBI enquiry into the matter.
