The Supreme Court on Monday said judges “have no business” granting interviews to the media on pending matters.

The apex court asked the Calcutta High Court registrar-general to seek clarification from Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on whether he had given an interview to ABP Ananda news channel on the ongoing teachers’ recruitment controversy into which the judge had earlier ordered a CBI probe. ABP Ananda belongs to a subsidiary of ABP Pvt Ltd which owns The Telegraph.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha asked the registrar-general to place before the bench the judge’s clarification before Friday so that it could take up the matter for further hearing on that day.

Justice Chandrachud was informed by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, of the interview.

Justice Chandrachud orally remarked: “We just want to say judges have no business granting interviews to media or TV channels on matters which are pending. If the judge had said that about the petitioner, then the judge has no business participating in the proceedings. The question is whether a judge who has made statements like these about a political personality should be allowed to participate in the hearings.”

The CJI added: “If he has done so, then he cannot participate any more. We will not touch the investigation part (by the CBI), but when a judge gives opinion in a TV debate, then he cannot hear it. The high court chief justice then has to constitute a new bench.”

The bench allayed apprehensions expressed by additional solicitor-general S.V. Raju that the issues raised by the petitioner should not delay the ongoing investigations by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.

On April 17, the apex court had stayed till April 24 a Calcutta High Court order permitting the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to question Abhishek Banerjee. On April 13, a single-judge bench of Justice Gangopadhyay had asked the CBI and the ED to question Banerjee after a party leader, Kuntal Ghosh, alleged that the central agencies were mounting pressure on him to implicate the MP in the teacher recruitment scandal. It is deemed that the apex court stay would continue till further orders.

On Monday, as soon as the matter came up for hearing, Singhvi raised objections to the interview given by the judge.

“With the greatest respect and humility, this just cannot be done. Please see a report... with a quote from the judge,” Singhvi said.

Initially, the CJI said: “A judge cannot clarify everything that has been reported.”

However, Singhvi said: “These things cannot be ignored.”

The CJI asked whether the judge was a sitting judge and whether the judge was hearing the matter. The senior counsel answered in the affirmative, saying: “Yes, this is unprecedented.”

The CJI asked: “This purported interview was given to ABP?”

Singhvi replied: “Yes.”

When the CJI remarked “the purported interview”, Singhvi said it was “not a purported interview” but a fact and referred to the transcripts placed before the bench.

Justice Chandrachud then passed the following order: “The petitioner has annexed a translated transcript of an interview of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay to a TV channel ABP Ananda. Transcript is attached of the said interview dated September 19, 2022. The registrar-general of Calcutta HC is directed to personally verify from Justice Gangopadhyay as to whether he had been interviewed by Mr Suman De (of ABP Ananda) and in that event, clarify. The registrar-general shall file affidavit on or before Friday before registrar, judicial, of this court.”