Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigns, set to join politics

Kolkata: Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who faced strong criticism from Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress for some of his judgments and observations, resigned from service on Tuesday morning to join politics.

Gangopadhyay sent his resignation directly to the President of India. The resignation came into effect immediately under Article 217 (1) (a) of the Constitution.

“My soul tells me that my tenure as a judge is over and it is time to enter a bigger sphere and serve people. I will put in my papers on Tuesday,” he told the media on Sunday.

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He also told the media that may join any of the Left parties, Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and even contest the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Though the judge did not specify his choice, a senior state BJP leader told HT that he is likely to join the party in a few days.

The judge is scheduled to hold a press conference in the afternoon.

Gangopadhay, 62, who joined the high court as an additional judge in 2018 and was made a permanent judge in July 2020, was scheduled to retire in July. He was a West Bengal Civil Service officer but quit his job more than a decade ago to become a lawyer.

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He was widely acknowledged for delivering speedy judgments in cases affecting common people.

In May 2022, he ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the appointment of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021. The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.

Initiating a parallel probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested education minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee in July 2022. In its charge sheet, ED said it traced cash, jewellery and immovable property worth ₹103.10 crore linked to the duo. Around a dozen TMC leaders and government officials were subsequently arrested.

In April 2023, the judge ordered CBI to probe a suspected recruitment scam in civic bodies across Bengal. Both CBI and ED have told the Supreme Court that the two scams are related.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, his wife and his parents are all suspects in the school recruitment scam.