HC judge in Mamata’s line of fire gets promoted

Kaushik Chanda, an Additional Judge of the Calcutta High Court whom the Supreme Court Collegium has appointed as a Permanent Judge, was in West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s line of fire over his alleged proximity to the BJP and the TMC leader had even opposed his confirmation. Justice Chanda had on July 7 recused himself from hearing a petition by the Trinamool Congress chief challenging the election of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram after she expressed apprehension of bias against her by the judge. Seeking reassignment of her election petition to another bench, Mamata’s counsel had also written to the Acting Chief Justice saying the chief minister “had objected to the confirmation of the Hon’ble Judge as a Permanent Judge of the HC and as such, apprehends that there is a likelihood of bias on the part of the judge concerned.”