The turbulent tenure of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay: Calcutta HC judge who took on Trinamool govt

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court who on Sunday announced his resignation from the judiciary on Tuesday has had run-ins with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for almost two years now.

The judge who is up for retirement later this year said he would submit his resignation to the President on Tuesday and send a copy to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. Hinting he may foray into electoral politics, Justice Gangopadhyay said, “I will resign from the post of Justice of Calcutta High Court on Tuesday and answer all your queries on that day.”

A High Court judge since May 2018, Justice Gangopadhyay has sparked rows by ignoring orders of larger Benches, giving an interview to a television channel, and issuing directions to the Supreme Court registry. Since 2022, he has passed several orders directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate the alleged school jobs scam in West Bengal.

These orders and the repeated run-ins with the West Bengal government kept the spotlight on the judge. The alleged scam saw Justice Gangopadhyay order CBI investigations and terminating more than 32,000 appointments of teachers. A Division Bench later stayed the order.

In September 2022, Justice Gangopadhyay who was then hearing a batch of pleas in connection with the alleged school jobs scam gave an interview to Bengali news channel ABP Ananda. He openly questioned the finances of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, the ruling party’s second-in-command and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew. In a separate, unrelated case he made an oral remark about a “bhaipo (nephew)” amassing wealth.

Objecting to the interview, the Supreme Court observed