"TMC MLA never discussed any agenda pertaining to removal of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal with bar council," Consent for Contempt action against Ashok Kumar Deb sought by Howrah resident

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A request has been made to the Advocate General of West Bengal Mr. Kishore Datta to initiate Contempt proceedings against the TMC MLA and Chairperson of Bar Council of West Bengal, Advocate Ashok Kumar Deb in connection with a letter written by the Chairperson which is said to “cast wild allegations” on the conduct of Justice Rajesh Bindal, the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.

The request to initiate contempt proceedings has been made by Vijay Kumar Singhal, a resident of Howrah who has stated that Deb had written a letter on June 25, 2021 addressed to the Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana which is being widely circulated in the social media.

The TMC MLA wrote to Chief Justice NV Ramana, seeking removal of the current acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Justice Rajesh Bindal.It has further been stated that the letter alleges Justice Bindal to be “BJP man” and that the administrative and judicial decisions that he has taken are to help promote the interest of the Bharatiya Janata Party and calls for removal of Justice Bindal as the Chief Justice of the High Court.

It has further been pointed out that the said letter was written on the letter head of the Bar Council of West Bengal whereas four eminent members of the Bar Council in an open letter has denounced the letter and said that such an agenda was never discussed at any meeting of the Bar.

It is pertinent to mention that while the letter was on the letterhead of the “Bar Council of West Bengal” and is undersigned by the TMC MLA, the body of the letter states that the West Bengal Bar Association is "compelled" to write the instant letter under "urgent and dire circumstance".

Singhal has said that the letter is an act of criminal contempt under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and has sought the consent of the Advocate General to initiate contempt proceedings against Dutta.

It is important to note that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee had sought recusal of Justice Kausik Chanda from hearing her plea challenging Suvendhu Adhikari's election from Nandigram.

Two Supreme Court judges, Justices Indira Banerjee & Justice Aniruddha Bose also recused themselves from hearing plea's concerning West Bengal Violence as well as the Narada Scam case respectively.