New Delhi: The Supreme Court today decided to transfer all proceedings concerning alleged irregularities in the issuance of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) certificates in West Bengal from the Calcutta High Court to its jurisdiction.
A five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, has also directed the completion of pleadings within three weeks.
The decision was made during a hearing in which the top court directed the West Bengal government to submit an affidavit detailing the current status of the investigation into these cases.
The decision comes in the wake of a dispute between two benches of the Calcutta High Court, primarily centred around the demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the purported irregularities in the issuance of caste certificates for candidates seeking reserved category seats.
The Constitution bench, which also includes justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Aniruddha Bose, announced its intention to hear the pleas after the stipulated three-week period.
On January 27, a Supreme Court bench convened on a holiday to address a judge's overruling of a division bench's decision. The division bench had quashed the judge's directive for a CBI investigation, instructing the central agency to proceed with the probe.
In response, the Constitution bench, seeking to resolve the judicial discord, decided to take charge and stayed all proceedings related to the tussle in the Calcutta High Court.
The matter involves Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay accusing his colleague, Judge Soumen Sen of the division bench, of favouring the interests of the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, to overturn his order for a CBI investigation.
The Constitution bench, led by CJI Chandrachud, refrained from making any allegations against the High Court judges involved.
During the proceedings, Kapil Sibal, representing the Mamata government, stated that judges continued to take up such cases, and this practice would persist in the future. Despite Sibal's request, CJI Chandrachud refused to restrain Justice Gangopadhyaya from hearing politically sensitive cases.
The CJI said they were dealing with a High Court judge and clarified that any statements made during the proceedings should not undermine the dignity of the Calcutta High Court.