Hon’ble Justice Kaushik Chanda of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court has recused himself from hearing a plea made by West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, challenging Nandigram Constituency’s election result after losing the election contest to BJP ‘s Suvendu Adhikary in the recent Assembly polls.
However, a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs was imposed on the petitioner after the Hon’ble Court finding fault with how the application for recusal was made.
“I am unable to accept the proposition made by Mr. Singhvi that there is a conflict of interest in the matter… and Mr. Singhvi’s stance has narrowed down a Judge’s integrity. I have no interest in the instant case made by the petitioner. It is my constitutional obligation to decide neutrally the cases allotted to me by the Chief Justice. However, I choose to recuse from hearing the case,” Hon’ble Justice Chanda observed.
It was further directed by the Hon’ble Court that the number of costs shall be deposited with the State Bar Council and it shall be used for the welfare of families of the Advocates, who died on account of Covid-19.
