With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee virtually appearing in the proceedings —as directed earlier by the Bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda—Nandigram elections case, hearing for which, began in Calcutta High Court on Thursday. This, even as the contention of the petitioner’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi that the case be transferred to a different court on the grounds of Judge’s saffron antecedents was strongly refuted by Justice Chanda who asked as to why the issue was not raised on the very first day of hearing.
The Judge also wondered whether a Judges’ past political connections should be a valid ground to question one’s judicial integrity. “I am asking Abhishek Manu Singhvi that if you felt that the Judge cannot deliver you justice, then why didn’t you raise it on the first day,” the Judge who had been a former Additional Solicitor General of India said.
He also asked whether Singhvi’s connection with a particular political party (Congress) could impact his professional approach. Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress have challenged the results of Nandigram elections and demanded its recounting which was however refused by the Election Commission.
Though the TMC got a landslide victory in the elections winning 2013 seats Banerjee lost to BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari by a slender margin of little more than 1900 votes.