A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday transferred to itself the petitions and appeals pending before Calcutta High Court in a case related to alleged irregularities in medical college admissions in the reserved category last year.
The case had created unprecedented impasse in Indian legal history with a division bench of the high court overruling a single-judge bench’s order for a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities and the single judge issuing a counter-order, saying the higher bench’s order was not in accordance with the law.
“The proceedings in the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution (single-judge bench) and in the Letter Patents Appeal… are transferred to this court…,” the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said in an order.
The others on the bench are Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose.
All five judges on the constitution bench are also members of the high-powered collegium which appoints and transfers judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts.
The bench asked all the parties to the dispute to file their pleadings within three weeks. The State of Bengal, represented by standing counsel Astha Sharma, was asked to file a status report by the next date of hearing.
The matter will again come up for hearing on February 19.
The court also said the state would file an affidavit explaining details of the FIRs filed in the case.
The bench restrained advocates appearing in the matter from casting any aspersions on judges.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the Bengal government, submitted that the state had filed four FIRs in connection with the allegedly fake caste certificates, based on which some candidates are said to have enrolled in the MBBS course. Ten such certificates, Sibal said, have been cancelled.
He told the bench that a “scrutiny committee” is seized of the matter but principles of natural justice have to be followed in each case while deciding the genuineness of the caste certificates.
Sibal, however, by way of complaining against the single judge — Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay — said “…the judge continues to take these matters now, in future he will do the same thing. What should be done?”
The Chief Justice interrupted him saying: “Let’s not cast aspersions on any individual judges, after all we are dealing with a high court judge. Casting aspersions on either judge is not proper. Anything we say will have the effect of impinging the dignity of the high court.”
He then said: “Leave it to us. We will handle it.”
Sibal, however, remarked: “The judge is taking part in the rally etc…”
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Trinamul Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, recalled that in April last year, the apex court had directed that the matter pending before Justice Gangopadhyay be reassigned to another bench since the judge was making personal comments against hisclients.
Chief Justice Chandrachud told the advocates that the power of allotting cases is vested with the Chief Justice of the high court concerned.
“These powers of assignment lie with the chief justice of the HC. There is a Chief Justice of the high court who is allocating the cases. Let’s not arrogate his powers,” the bench said.
The bench later adjourned the proceedings.
On January 27, despite it being a court holiday, the five-judge bench had stayed the orders passed by Justice Gangopadhyay for a CBI probe and the subsequent order of a division bench of the high court, headed by Justice Soumen Sen, overruling the direction and the counter-order passed by the single judge.
The counter-order passed by the single judge was unprecedented since a single judge cannot overrule a division bench’s ruling.
While staying the directions, the apex court had also issued notices to the CBI, State of Bengal and the petitioner, Ishita Soren, on whose plea Justice Gangopadhyay had issued the order for a CBI investigation.
Soren, a resident of Bankura, had moved the single judge alleging that she had failed to get a seat in the medical course despite scoring the required marks in NEET (the admission test) and being eligible for admission in the reserved category.
She had also submitted that 27 candidates had gained admission based on fake caste certificates.