Calcutta High Court Affirms Decision Placing Mamata Banerjee's Sister-in-Law as Head of Rani Birla Girls' College Governing Body
The Principal of Rani Birla Girls' College in Kolkata, Srabanti Bhattacharya, has been under suspension since August 29, following a show-cause notice issued by Kajori Banerjee, the President of the college's working committee. The legality of Banerjee's appointment and the suspension order have been the subject of a series of hearings in the Calcutta High Court.
On September 17, the single-judge bench, presided by Justice Bivas Pattanayak, questioned the legality of Banerjee's appointment as the President of the working committee. The court raised concerns about Banerjee's lack of qualifications in the field of education, as per the law, which requires the President of a college's management committee to be a "person who is associated with education."
Justice Pattanayak also put an interim stay on the show-cause notice and suspension order issued to Bhattacharya. In a hearing earlier this week, the state government counsel requested Justice Basu to recuse himself from hearing the matter. However, Justice Basu, expressing anguish over such an approach, decided to recuse himself from the case.
The division bench of the Calcutta High Court, presided by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobrata Kumar Mitra, rejected Banerjee's petition challenging the single-judge bench order on September 17. The matter was thereafter referred to the bench of Justice Pattanayak.
The next hearing in the matter is scheduled six weeks from now, as decided earlier. The interim stay on the show-cause notice and suspension order issued to Bhattacharya will prevail for another eight weeks. The college principal, Bhattacharya, had challenged the show-cause notice and the suspension order before the single-judge bench of Justice Biswajit Basu.
The court has called for a detailed hearing in the matter, as Banerjee's position as a Councillor does not necessarily indicate association with academics. The division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, upheld a previous order of a single-judge bench, stressing the need for a detailed hearing on the qualification and eligibility of Banerjee as the President of the working committee of the top girl's college in Kolkata.
The next hearing date for the case regarding the legality of Banerjee's appointment has not been publicly announced. The suspension and show-cause notice issued to Bhattacharya remain in effect, pending the outcome of the court proceedings.
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