The Supreme Court on Friday eased out Calcutta high court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay from the West Bengal school jobs 'scam' case over an interview he granted to a TV news channel on the raging controversy, prompting him to ask the top court's secretary general to place before him the official translated copy of his interview by midnight.
However, the apex court also stayed in the evening Justice Gangopadhyay's order asking for the transcript of his interview.
Justice Gangopadhyay said that he will abide by the SC's order.
He maintained that everybody has to abide by the Supreme Court's directions and as part of the high court judiciary, he will also do the same.
"A discipline has to be maintained and because the Supreme Court is the highest court of the country, as a high court, we must abide by its directions," he told reporters while leaving the high court a little before 10 pm, following the stay order.
Asserting that he will not resign, the judge said, "I am not a man to run away."
Earlier in the evening, a bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli hurriedly assembled after the normal court hours and stayed the controversial order passed by Justice Gangopadhyay, hours after the SC asked the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta high court to reassign the school jobs 'scam' case to another judge.
The apex court had recently voiced displeasure over Justice Gangopadhyay's interview to TV news channel ABP Ananda.
Justice Bopanna said Justice Gangopadhyay's order soon after the apex court's direction to the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta high court was not proper.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed with the view of the bench and said the judge should not have passed the order.
'On hearing the Solicitor General, as has been rightly pointed out, the order of the present nature ought not have been passed in judicial proceedings. More so, keeping in view the judicial discipline. The present proceedings are closed and the order of the high court is stayed,' the bench said.
The bench then directed the secretary general of the apex court to immediately convey the order to the Calcutta high court registrar general.
"As the matter stands, no further proceedings needed in this case," Justice Bopanna said.
Hours before the SC bench met for an urgent hearing to stay his order, Justice Gangopadhyay wanted the official translation of his controversial interview, in which he was alleged to have spoken against Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, to be brought before him.
'For the sake of transparency, I direct the secretary general of the Supreme Court of India to produce before me the official translation of the interview given by me in media and the affidavit of the registrar general of this court in original, forthwith by 12 midnight today,' he said in his order.
'This is required for the sake of transparency, I will be waiting in my chamber till 12.15 in the midnight to get the said two sets in original which were placed before the judges of the Supreme Court today,' he added.
'I direct the registrar general of this court to communicate this order forthwith to the secretary general of the Supreme Court of India so that those two sets in original, which were before the judges today, can be placed before me as this has become now records of the court as the adjudication thereof is over,' Justice Gangopadhyay had said.
Earlier, an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and also comprising justice P S Narasimha, heard the plea of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee alleging that the judge, who gave the interview to ABP Ananda about the case, was rendered incapacitated from hearing it.
'Pursuant to the order of this court, the registry has placed the affidavit. We have considered the note by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay and have also perused the transcript of the interview. Having considered the transcript, we direct that the Hon'ble Acting Chief Justice of the high court of Calcutta shall re-assign the pending proceedings in the case to some other judge of the Calcutta high court.
'The judge to whom the case will be reassigned by the Acting Chief Justice would be at liberty to take up all the applications which may be moved in the case,' the bench ordered.
The top court also took note of the concerns raised by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), that there has been a trend of individuals trying to browbeat judges the moment a judgement or an order goes against them.
"This is quite disturbing. There is a pattern going on whenever an order goes against a particular dispensation and a person, judges are targeted. Before Justice Gangopadhyay, there was one more judge. I am not naming him. His courtroom was blocked, virtually locked. He was not permitted to come out," he said.
"Even in the court of Justice Gangopadhyay, people went with paperweight and slippers in their hands and posters were pasted outside his house," he said.
"This sends a very demoralising message to the judiciary. They are right or wrong, that is entirely Lordsdhips' discretion (to decide). I have nothing to say... if such elements are emboldened then similar activities will also take place before other judges. Judges should not be cowed down by the people barging into the courtroom and abusing them. This is on video," the law officer said.
"No effort anywhere in the country should be made to browbeat the judges ... undoubtedly there is no question about that. I will take it up as the Chief Justice of India on the administrative side," CJI Chandrachud assured the top law officer, who claimed TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee named Justice Gangopadhyay at a public rally and attempted to put pressure on him.
