Judge, who ordered many CBI probes in Bengal, upset with inquiry progress

Justice Arijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court, who had ordered so many CBI probes in West Bengal since November last year, is now frustrated with the progress of investigation by the central agency in all these cases.

Justice Gangopadhyay is specially upset about the slow progress in the probe of West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities scam, the order for which was given by him only.

Hearing a related case on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Gangopadhyay wondered whether the CBI probe in at least 12 cases in the state will end up without any result as it happened in case of the theft of the Nobel medallion of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

"Now at the time I feel that a special investigation team (SIT) of the state police would have been better than CBI. No light is visible at the end of the tunnel. I gave the first order for the CBI probe in November last year. Now I am tired," he said.

Claiming that this is not a rosy picture for the state, Justice Gangopadhyay observed that he has doubts on how far will the CBI progress in case of recruitment irregularities in the education sector.

Incidentally, on Monday afternoon, Justice Gangopadhyay's bench in Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI inquiry in the primary teachers' recruitment irregularities by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) in 2014. Justice Gangopadhyay also ordered immediate cancellation of the appointment of 269 candidates for the post of primary teachers and observed that these candidates secured jobs despite not qualifying in the written examination and some of them did not even appear for the same.


He also directed WBBPE to immediately stop payment of salaries to these 269 candidates and also ensure that they are not able to enter the respective schools they were appointed henceforth.

Justice Gangopadhyay faced the wrath of the Trinamool Congress affiliated advocates of Calcutta High Court after he ordered CBI to question former West Bengal education minister and Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee in connection with the WBSSC recruitment irregularities scam. These advocates also boycotted his court for some time then. - IANS