‘We have been reduced to a mockery… salvage the situation’: Calcutta HC choose on Narada case

In an unprecedented transfer, Justice Arindam Sinha, a senior choose of the Calcutta High Court, has written to the appearing Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and all different judges of the excessive courtroom on the courtroom’s dealing with of the Narada sting case, calling for a full courtroom to “salvage the situation”.
“The high court must get its act together. Our conduct is unbecoming of the majesty the High Court commands. We have been reduced to a mockery. As such, I am requesting all of us to salvage the situation by taking such steps, including convening a Full Court, if necessary, for the purpose of re-affirming sanctity of our Rules and our unwritten code of conduct,” Justice Sinha has written within the letter that accessed by The Indian Express.
The letter is dated 24 May — which is a day after the CBI moved the Supreme Court difficult a division bench order of the excessive courtroom that directed the home arrest of ministers Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim, Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra, and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee who’ve been held within the Narada bribery case.

However, the order for home arrest was made as Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arjit Banerjee differed of their opinion relating to the matter and a bigger 5-judge bench can be constituted to listen to the plea. While Justice Banerjee was in favour of granting bail, appearing CJ Bindal favoured home arrest.
Justice Sinha, in his letter, questioned many facets of the case together with why a 5-judge bench was constituted when usually a 3rd choose is added in case of a cut up verdict in a division bench.
“Chapter VII provides for references to a Full Bench. Such references arise when view taken by a Division Bench is inconsistent with view taken by another Division Bench,” the letter mentioned.
On May 17, the 4 TMC leaders had been arrested by the CBI however had been granted bail on the identical day by a delegated CBI courtroom. However, the CBI petitioned the HC urging the judges to switch the trial from a particular CBI courtroom to the High Court, declare the proceedings within the company courtroom a nullity within the eyes of the regulation, and conduct the proceedings afresh. The CBI made a plea that the CBI courtroom had granted bail to the 4 leaders “under the cloud of mobocracy, pressure, threat and violence and is a nullity in the eyes of law”.

The HC then heard the matter after courtroom hours and stayed the bail granted by the particular courtroom.

“The Appellate side Rules require a motion seeking transfer, either on the civil or criminal side, too, be headed by a single judge. However, the First Division Bench took up the matter, treating it to be a writ petition,” Justice Sinha wrote.
Referring to the CBI’s communication that TMC made makes an attempt to the trial courtroom, “the mob factor may be a ground on merits for adjudication of the motion but could the first Division bench have taken it up and continue to hear it as a writ petition is the first question,” Justice Sinha’s letter said.