A division bench of Calcutta High Court on Friday criticised a trial judge of the court for making adverse remarks against another judge.

The bench of Justice Pranab K. Chattopadhaya and Justice Kalidas Banerjee ordered that Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta’s remarks against Justice Soumitra Sen be expunged.

Justice Sengupta had held Justice Sen guilty of contempt of court while hearing a case between the Shipping Corporation of India and SAIL.

“The trial court had gone beyond its jurisdiction and the observations of the trial judge were based on surmises and conjectures,” the division bench observed.

SAIL in 1992 had filed a petition in the high court, claiming compensation from the Shipping Corporation for causing damage to its articles. Justice A.N. Roy, who was hearing the case, appointed Sen (then an advocate) a receiver to sell the articles and deposit the money in a bank of his choice.

Following Justice Roy’s transfer from the court, the case was referred to Justice Sengupta. Sen, meanwhile, was appointed a judge of the high court.

On April 10 last year, Justice Sengupta had observed that Justice Sen had violated the court order by depositing the money in a private financial institution and by retaining the post of receiver even after being appointed a judge.