The Calcutta high court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea for initiating criminal contempt proceedings against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the judiciary at a seminar held in the state assembly on August 14.
Mamata had said that court verdicts are on sale now-a-days and dared to take legal action against her.
"Money is paid to buy many (favourable) judgments. Corruption has crept into democracy and judiciary. Why should this happen? This is most unfortunate. I know people may file defamation suits against me for this. But I am not afraid of money and muscle power," said Mamata during a function held to mark 75 years of the assembly on August 14.
Advocate Bikash Bhattacharjee, former Kolkata Mayor and CPM filed the petition over her remark.
The chief minister also hit out at the commissions whose officials, she felt were "there to make money and build houses and buy cars". Mamata's remarks came just a day after the West Bengal Human Right Commission (WBHRC) pulled up the state government over the arrest of Ambikesh Mahapatra, a Jadavpur University professor for circulating a spoof of Mamata and former railway minister Mukul Roy.
Criticising WBHRC chairman Ashok Ganguly, a former Supreme Court judge, she said: "We brought one person whom we thought would work in an unbiased manner. Did not know he had no knowledge of what to do or his limits. He writes orders thinking he is the President of India. He calls our executives and makes them wait for 12 hours." Eminent members of the legal fraternity condemned the statements about the judiciary made inside the state legislature. On August 16, the Calcutta high court admitted a plea for initiating criminal contempt proceedings against the chief minister for her remarks.
{{/usCountry}}Criticising WBHRC chairman Ashok Ganguly, a former Supreme Court judge, she said: "We brought one person whom we thought would work in an unbiased manner. Did not know he had no knowledge of what to do or his limits. He writes orders thinking he is the President of India. He calls our executives and makes them wait for 12 hours." Eminent members of the legal fraternity condemned the statements about the judiciary made inside the state legislature. On August 16, the Calcutta high court admitted a plea for initiating criminal contempt proceedings against the chief minister for her remarks.
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