2 weeks after row, Calcutta high court judge apologises to advocate general
Times of India | 7 February 2024
KOLKATA: Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta HC apologized to advocate general Kishore Datta in open court on Tuesday over the angry exchanges he had with him during the hearing of a matter on Jan 25.
The judge called the Bengal govt's most senior advocate to his court and said: "I had said many things that day in a fit of rage. I should not have said all that. Members of the Bar should be aware of it." Addressing Datta as his "friend", Justice Gangopadhyay said: "I apologize to my friend."
The Jan 25 incident took place during the hearing of a case involving alleged use of fake caste certificates for MBBS admission in Bengal-run colleges. The case was taken away from Justice Gangopadhyay after the Supreme Court shifted to itself all proceedings before the HC.
The apology came days after some members of Calcutta High Court Bar Association took exception to what Justice Gangopadhyay had told the AG and wrote to Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam.
In their letter, the members said that the remarks by Justice Gangopadhyay in the courtroom were nothing less than "contempt of court". They wanted him to apologise to the AG.
In a bid to bury the hatchet, Justice Gangopadhyay said: "Kishore is my friend. I need to apologise to him. He might have felt hurt. I have told you many things some days ago."
The judge then recalled the personal rapport he had with Datta. "We have known each other for the last 37 years. I am sorry, I apologise to you. The remarks I had made that day were out of rage. You also made some remarks in response. But I had no intention to hurt you personally," he said.
Justice Gangopadhyay recalled how Datta had helped him out on some occasions. "You (others present in the court) probably do not know how Kishore had helped me. There was one occasion when I could have died hadn't Kishore and another friend of mine come to my rescue. I, Kishore, Joymalya (Justice Joymalya Bagchi) and many others used to roam around together," Justice Gangopadhyay said.
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