A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Saturday, taking a suo motu cognizance, stayed the orders passed by a single judge of the Calcutta High Court passed on January 24 and 25 contrary to an earlier order passed by a division bench.
Staying the operation of the order passed by the single-judge of the High Court, a five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrtachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Aniruddha Bose posted the matter for hearing on Monday-January 29, 2024.
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The Supreme Court took an unprecedented step in the wake of conflicting back-to-back orders passed by the single judge and the division bench of the Calcutta High Court on an issue relating to a caste certificate.
The Single-judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay besides passing an order ignoring the order passed by a division bench (two-judge bench), had also gone on to state that Justice Soumen Sen, who was heading the division bench, of “acting for a political party in the State.”
The order passed by the five-judge bench after special hearing taking suo motu cognisance of the developments in Calcutta High Court said that pending further orders, there shall be a stay of all proceedings before the Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court and before the division bench and the implementation of the directions issued by the Single Judge on 24 and 25 January 2024 shall, in consequence, remain stayed.
The order further issued notice to the original petitioner before the High Court at Calcutta in WPA No 22150 of 2023 and to the State of West Bengal. Notice was also issued to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
