Odisha ‘Custody Assault’ Probe: Know RSS Links Of Justice C R Dash Heading Judicial Commission

Bhubaneswar: Four months after his retirement as a judge of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash has been appointed as the chairman of the Judicial Commission to probe the alleged custody assault of an Army officer and his fiancée in Bhubaneswar.

After the alleged incident at Bharatpur Police Station triggered nationwide outrage, the Odisha government on Monday announced a judicial inquiry under Justice Dash, also a former judge of the Orissa High Court.

With his appointment as the chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the sensational case, many may be keen to know more about him.

It may be noted that soon after his retirement as a judge, Justice Dash had declared that he was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS). Speaking at his farewell at the High Court in May this year, Justice Dash had reportedly said that he was now ready to go back to the organisation if they call him for any assistance or for any work that he was capable of doing.

Speaking in the presence of a full bench and bar, he said he had distanced himself from RSS for 37 years for professional reasons even while remaining ideologically moored to the organisation, as per media reports.

While declaring this, Justice Dash made it clear that he did not have any bias against anybody and that he never used this membership for any advancement of his career, “which is against the principles of my organisation.”

Noting that many judges hide their political identities, Justice Dash had reportedly said he had the courage to declare his membership of RSS as he has not done anything wrong in his life. “I owe a lot to the organisation… I am there from my childhood and throughout my youth,” he said.

“I have learnt to be courageous, upright and have an equal view for others and above all, the sense of patriotism and commitment to the work,” he said.

Justice Dash said he treated everybody at par, be he a rich or poor person, be he a communist, or from the BJP, Congress or TMC (Trinamool Congress).

Born in 1962 in Odisha’s Sonepur, Dash did his schooling in Ullunda and completed his higher studies in Dhenkanal and Bhubaneswar, following which he graduated in law in Cuttack in 1985.

He enrolled as an advocate in 1986 and was appointed as an additional standing counsel of the state government in 1992, which he continued till 1994, according to the website of the Calcutta HC.

Dash joined the Orissa Superior Judicial Service (Senior Branch) in February 1999 as a direct recruit. He was elevated as an additional judge of the Orissa High Court in October 2009. He joined as a judge of the Calcutta High Court on transfer on June 20, 2022.