Reporting Corrupt Judges To Chief Justice Resulted In My Transfer: Ex-Judge Sanjib Banerjee

Kolkata: Justice Sanjib Banerjee, who retired as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court last November, has made a sensational claim which is bound to send ripples through Indian judiciary.

In an interview with the Bar and Bench, Banerjee said that he was transferred to Meghalaya High Court after reporting to the Chief Justice of India about corrupt judges, backed by evidence.

It was widely believed that Banerjee, the then Chief Justice of Madras High Court, was removed and handed a ‘punishment’ assignment to Meghalaya HC in April 2021 for slamming the Election Commission of India for allowing political rallies amid a deadly second wave of COVID-19.

“That was only the excuse that was allowed to gain currency. The reasons are much more serious and much more deep-rooted that plagues the institution. The reason is that I found corrupt judges and I reported to my Chief Justice of India about the corrupt judges with evidence backing it up,” Bar and Bench quoted Banerjee as saying.

“Unfortunately, those corrupt judges had friends in high places that resulted in my transfer. That was the real reason. Not a commentary on the Election Commission,” he said.

In April 2021, Banerjee, the then-Madras High Court Chief Justice, slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for allowing political rallies amid a deadly second wave of COVID-19.

Banerjee had said that the Election Commission was singularly responsible for the second COVID wave by not stopping political parties from holding election rallies. He also opined that Election Commission officials should be booked for murder.

In September 2021, Banerjee was transferred to Meghalaya High Court following recommendations by the Supreme Court Collegium.

Banerjee, who is from Kolkata, started practising law in 1990 and was appointed permanent judge of Calcutta High Court in 2006.