Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court, who resigned today, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party. Earlier in the day, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay announced his resignation from the Calcutta High Court for personal reasons.
At a news conference, he announced that he will join the BJP on March 7. "I am joining the BJP as it is a national party, which is fighting against the corruption of the TMC in Bengal," he stated.
“Maybe on 7th (March) in the afternoon. There is a tentative program, when I will join BJP," Gangopadhyay said.
“The party will decide whether there will be candidates in the Lok Sabha or not. The ruling party of the state has inspired me to enter politics," he said.
On Tuesday morning, Gangopadhyay handed his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu, along with copies to CJI DY Chandrachud and Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court TS Sivagnanam.
Gangopadhyay is expected to run as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in the next Lok Sabha elections from Bengal's Tamluk seat. The Tamluk seat has been a stronghold for the ruling Trinamool Congress in previous elections, with the party holding it since 2009.
Earlier, Gangopadhyay, whose verdicts on numerous education-related matters in the state sparked political discussion, stated that he would respond to all concerns about his resignation once the letter was sent.
In January 2024, Justice Gangopadhyaya engaged in a judicial disagreement with fellow judge Justice Soumen Sen of the Calcutta High Court, prompting the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the two judges' 'order war'. However, this is not the first time the top court has had to convene a special session to address Justice Gangopadhyaya's judgment.
In April 2023, the Teacher Recruitment Scam involving TMC leader and CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee was assigned to his bench. While dealing with the 'School Jobs for Cash scheme,' Justice Gangopadhyay spoke to a local Bengali news channel about Abhishek Banerjee's role in the scheme.