Veteran lawyer Arunava Ghosh on Monday moved an application before the high court division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava seeking a change in the jurisdiction of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay and restrict the entry of media persons inside his courtroom.
Justice Gangopadhyay has been assigned to hear education-related matters.
Ghosh, also president of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association, said by allowing journalists to make video record proceedings of a case, Justice Gangopadhyay had violated the court’s norms and decorum.
Hearing the plea, the Chief Justice said: “It is the duty of both lawyers and judges to maintain the dignity of the court. You have appealed. Let me see what can be done.”
On August 18, Justice Gangopadhyay had allowed journalists to video record the proceedings of a case. According to Ghosh, Justice Gangopadhyay was also not abiding by the principle of natural justice and taking the highest penal measures against the accused without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves in court.
Puja dole hearing
Three public interest litigation (PIL) petitions, challenging the validity of the state government’s decision to give Rs 60,000 each to over 40,000 community Durga Puja organisers across Bengal, came up for hearing together before the division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava on Monday.
The bench adjourned the hearing till September 6 as the state’s advocate-general, S.N. Mookherjee, prayed for a week’s time to file an affidavit.
The lawyers moving the PILs argued that when the government failed to disburse dearness allowance to its employees on a par with their counterparts in the Centre, it should not be allowed to implement its Puja dole decision
