Did Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay step down just to join BJP?

Abhijit Gangopadhyay announced today, 5 March, that he is joining the BJP, hours after he resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court.

Addressing a press conference this afternoon, Gangopadhyay said his decision to joining the Bharatiya Janata Party was taken over the last few days.

"I was on leave for the last few days and got in touch with the BJP. They also contacted me. I felt this is the right platform to fight against the (All-India Trinamool Congress," he said.

"I will be joining the BJP, possibly on 7 March. I am joining the BJP as it is a national party, which is fighting against the corruption of the TMC in Bengal," he added.

Gangopadhyay alleged that the TMC was "synonymous with corruption" and he would fight it till the end, even as netizens wondered how his bias might have affected his recent rulings—and debated whether there has ever been precedent for a sitting judge to (a) talk to a political party with intent, on either side, for them to consider its membership; (b) to resign their post with a view to possibly fighting an election as a candidate; (c) to be so open about their bias against a particular political entity during their tenure.

Others wondered what it took for him to change his tune in recent months, since he had less than a year ago been insistent he had no intention of stepping down, even as he was called out by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud for discussing a sub judice matter with the press.

Reportedly, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut told the Hindustan Times, "If sitting judges of the high court and Supreme Court resign and join a particular political party, it means they were not delivering justice, but working for the party."

Gangopadhyay, whose rulings on various education-related matters stirred political debates, refrained from giving a direct reply on whether he would contest the Lok Sabha polls—but speculation is naturally rife, especially in light of his BJP announcement and avowal of admiration for the prime minister, who he said "is a good man, doing good work".

"It is for the BJP leadership to decide whether they want me to fight. Whatever they decide I will accept," the former justice said.

Gangopadhyay did say explicitly that he would fight against the "injustice" and "corruption" of the TMC.

"TMC leaders have been using derogatory language against me for quite some time. If they don't like a judgement, then they can't just verbally attack a judge. Such instigations only helped me to take the decision to join politics and fight the TMC, which is synonymous with corruption in Bengal," he said.

Asked about the allegations of corruption against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP—which was much in the news last year—Gangopadhyay said it was "a cooked up case to frame him and other TMC leaders" to pave the way for a top TMC leader's accession in the party's power structure.

Gangopadhyay had sent his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu with copies to CJI DY Chandrachud and the chief justice of the Calcutta HC TS Sivagnanam only this morning, though he did announce his to step down a few days before this.

He had joined the Calcutta High Court as an additional judge on 2 May 2018. He was elevated as a permanent judge on 30 July 2020.

With PTI inputs