Judgements Not Influenced by Post-Retirement Plans: Ex-Calcutta HC Judge Abhijit Ganguly On Joining Politics
judgements not influenced by post-retirement plans: ex-calcutta hc judge abhijit ganguly on joining politics | exclusive
New Delhi: Former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Ganguly addressed the controversy surrounding his decision to enter politics in an exclusive interview with Times Now. Ganguly, slated to retire in August as a Calcutta HC judge, made the unprecedented decision to join the BJP shortly after the party announced its first list of Lok Sabha candidates, some of whom hail from West Bengal.
Former Calcutta High Court Judge responded to allegations surrounding his decision to enter politics, asserting that the claims made by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) were “fully incorrect and untrue.” When asked if his judgements as Calcutta HC judge were influenced by his post-retirement plans, Ganguly categorically denied the charges as he said that the decisions are based on the evidence at hand and there are no other motives behind the judgement.
“TMC is telling fully incorrect and untrue statements because they do not want the exposure of their corruption during their period. They want to raise these fully baseless questions instead of corruption,” Ganguly said.
“In some way or another, they want to confuse people by raising doubts about my judgments as a judge,” Ganguly added.
Responding to the allegations levelled by the TMC, the former Justice said, “All my judgements are written based on the documents annexed to the petition as is usually done…”
Addressing the controversy regarding his alleged comments about a brother judge, Ganguly stated that the matter was with the Supreme Court, and he refrained from commenting further. He further clarified that there was no instance where the Supreme Court made any “sarcastic” comment on him, as alleged by the TMC.
“What TMC is saying with regards to the Supreme Court and disciplinary issue is again fully untrue,” he added.
Regarding his decision to join politics, Ganguly highlighted that the TMC’s fear of him aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stemmed from his entry into the political arena. He dismissed concerns about setting a precedent by transitioning from the judiciary to politics, considering it hypothetical and asserting that there was no issue if a person entered politics after resigning from their previous position.
‘Not at all. I do not think so. What you are saying is fully hypothetical. I don’t see anything wrong if a person joins politics after resigning from his post,” Ganguly said.
When asked about his potential participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Ganguly stated that it would be up to the BJP to decide if he would contest, affirming his commitment to undertake any assigned responsibilities diligently.