WBSSC scam cases: Another judge recuses from hearing

Kolkata, April 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Uncertainty over the hearing on the cases related to irregularities in recruitment by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) continued on Tuesday after another judge of the Calcutta High court recused himself from cases.

On Monday, Justice Harish Tandon recused from the cases. Accordingly the cases were transferred to the bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi. However, on Tuesday Bagchi recused citing personal grounds, like Justice Tandon, as the reason behind his decision.

In fact, the transfer of the case from the bench of Justice Tandon to the bench of Justice Bagchi involved a lot of complications since Monday. After Justice Tandon recused from hearing on Monday noon, the cases went back to the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava for his decision to allot a new bench.

First Justice Srivastava decided to allot the cases to the bench of Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, who expressed his inability to hear the cases on the ground of his busy schedule with other assignments. Then Justice Srivastava decided to allot the cases to the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen. However, Justice Sen too expressed his inability on this count.

Finally, the chief justice allotted the cases to the division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Bivas Pattanyak and it was decided that the said bench would hear the cases on Tuesday morning. However, on Tuesday morning Justice Bagchi announced his decision to recuse from hearing the cases.

To recall, on March 25 the Calcutta High Court's single judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered WBSSC's former advisor, S.P. Sinha to file an affidavit to the court disclosing the details of his assets. Sinha appealed to the division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Rabindranath Samanta against the single- bench order. The said division bench, although upheld the single-bench order, directed Sinha to file the same affidavit in a sealed envelope.

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay took exception to this observation of the division bench and complained that in a way the hands of the single bench had been tied. "This is -- I am sorry to say -- a highest degree of double standard expressed by the appeal court for the reason known to it. But to maintain judicial discipline, I have to accept such an order," Justice Gangopadhyay observed.

After that development two judges of the division bench, first Justice Harish Tandon and then Justice Joymalya Bagchi recused themselves from hearing of the cases.

Source: IANS