Bar Council Of West Bengal Chairman Writes To CJI Seeking Removal Of Calcutta HC Acting CJ Rajesh Bindal

The Chairman of Bar Council of West Bengal has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana asking him to remove the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Rajesh Bindal.

"Justice Bindal is a partial, unfair and biased judge whose continuance at High Court interferes with fair and impartial dispensation of justice," the letter by Ashok Kumar Deb, the Bar Council Chairman, said. Ashok Kumar Deb also happens to be a Member of Parliament belonging to the Trinamool Congress.

The Letter states that Justice Bindal had stayed an Interim order of bail passed by the Special CBI Court in favor of members of a certain political dispensation without giving the aggrieved parties an opportunity of being heard (Narada matter).

It may be noted that on May 17, the Division Bench had stayed the bail granted by the Special CBI Court at Kolkata to four Trinamool Congress leaders - Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee and Sovan Chatterjee - who were arrested dramatically by CBI on May 17. Justice Bindal leads the 5-judge benches which is hearing the CBI's transfer petition in the Narada case and also the West Bengal post-poll cases.

 The letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India states:  

"The Calcutta High Court being the oldest chartered court in the country has a rich cultural and historical past. Being associated with such an esteemed institution, it pains us greatly to write this letter. Our Hon*ble High Court has been shaped up through the impeccable commitment and devotion of the officers of this court, including but not limited to the Hon'ble Judges, Advocates, administrative officers as well as other staff members towards the maintenance of the highest standards of ethics and morality. Any endeavour that may seek to endanger the sanctity of this Hon'ble Court will destroy the sacred fabric of this institution."

Justice Bindal was appointed as a judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in 2006.  In December 2020, he was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of the Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.

He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on January 5, 2021.

Justice Bindal took over as Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court after Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan demitted office on April 28, 2021.