Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Tuesday tendered his resignation as a judge of Calcutta High Court, announced his decision to join the BJP and expressed his willingness to contest elections to continue his crusade against corruption, prompting political and legal circles to raise questions on propriety.

During a news conference at his home, Justice Gangopadhyay explained the reasons behind his decision to hang up his boots and select the BJP as his platform to serve people, besides tearing into Trinamul and its leaders, especially national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Trinamul, led by Abhishek, was quick to lap up the opportunity and mount an attack.

“I have noted one very interesting thing from whatever he has said. He has blurted out the truth. It was likely a slip of the tongue. But I thank him for speaking the truth. He said: ‘I approached the BJP, the BJP approached me’. This is most interesting, and you
have to read between the lines,” said the Diamond Harbour MP.

“Hence, he clarified that he was in touch with the BJP while delivering judgments. I leave the rest to the people,” he added.

Multiple sources in the ruling party said Justice Gangopadhyay’s switch to the saffron camp — after passing a string of orders against the Trinamul government that resulted in 14 CBI probes and the arrest of four MLAs — validated their allegations of “bias and political motive” against him.

In sharp contrast to the “told you so” reaction from Trinamul, the Congress and CPM camps expressed their disappointment.

The fact that the decision of the judge immediately divided the Opposition space — which he had ended up uniting with his judgments and observations against the alleged corruption in recruitments in schools and civic bodies — became clear as Justice Gangopadhyay came under attack from some of his ardent admirers.

The Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who had hailed the judge last year as the ideal chief ministerial candidate for Bengal, jeered at him on Tuesday in the wake of his disparaging remarks on the party and Rahul Gandhi.

“Give it some time. He will soon realise what the reality is. He will soon be weeping for reprieve in a party like the BJP. He has now given scope for this to be said, that every judgment was politically motivated,” said Chowdhury.

“The so-called anti-corruption crusader has joined the most corrupt party in this nation’s history,” he added.

CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty — who had earlier described Justice Gangopadhyay as a crusader — said fighting against corruption and being part of the BJP or Trinamul could not go hand-in-hand.

The saffron camp erupted with plaudits with Justice Gangopadhyay billed as a prized catch. Though multiple sources said that he would contest on a BJP ticket in the Lok Sabha polls, there was no official confirmation. “Let him first join the party formally on March 7,” state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said, adding that it would surely benefit the party.

However, some BJP insiders, on the condition of anonymity, admitted to worries over the former judge’s approach at his very first news conference as a politician, including the propensity to attack journalists for asking uncomfortable questions and questioning their credentials. The judge’s comments on the Narada scam — in which a person resembling Suvendu Adhikari was seen accepting money — did not go down well with the party, said a source.

“He will be difficult to handle as he loves to give comments...,” said a BJP insider.

The questions on propriety were far louder from the legal circles as several legal exponents said Justice Gangopadhyay’s decision to join the BJP — after passing a slew of orders that went against the state government — would end up casting a shadow on his judicial pronouncements.

“This is not the first time that a judge has joined politics, so this is not unique.... But the point is, if this was in his mind, he should not have handled those sensitive matters.... Now that he has resigned and joined a political party, it may give the impression that this was part of a larger plan,” said retired Justice Sanjib Banerjee, who had served as the chief justice of Madras High Court and Meghalaya High Court.

A source in the high court said most senior members of the Bar did not approve of Justice Gangopadhyay's decision, calling it a conduct unbecoming of a judge.

“It’s clear that he was harbouring political ambitions, which means his thought process may have been favouring some party. So, questions on his decision-making process are natural, which implies that any case that he had handled would now be tainted by suspicion,” said a source in the high court.

At a news conference on behalf of Trinamul, Kalyan Banerjee, a senior advocate himself, tore into the former judge.

“He has been the most incompetent judge in the history of Calcutta High Court. He used his position for political benefits and did whatever he wished to.… No matter which seat he contests from, we will defeat him,” he added.

“Neither Narendra Modi nor Suvendu Adhikari will be able to stop his defeat…. Corruption doesn’t just entail money but also giving politically motivated judgments while remaining in the judiciary.”