Mamata Banerjee writes to Calcutta HC seeking change of judge in Nandigram case

The case is currently assigned to Justice Kausik Chanda.

In a letter written on behalf of Banerjee by her advocate, and delivered to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on June 16, the Chief Minister has stated two reasons for the request.

Justice Chanda was associated with the BJP in the past and according to Banerjee's letter, there is "reasonable apprehension of bias... in favour of the Respondent...", who is also from the saffron camp.

Banerjee also said she "reasonably apprehends likelihood of bias" because in April she had objected to Justice Chanda's confirmation as a permanent judge at Calcutta High Court.

"... it will lead to a situation and perception whereby the Honourable Judge, in adjudicating the matter, may be said to be 'judge in his own cause'," the letter, accessed by media, read.

"Justice must not only be done; it must also be seen to be done," Banerjee added, as she underlined the need to "sustain the confidence of the public in the judiciary".

Earlier in the day, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien raised questions about Justice Chanda's association with BJP on Twitter.

In one tweet, he shared some undated photographs that appeared to show Justice Chanda at a meeting of the BJP's legal cell, which was also attended by the party's Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh.

In another, he listed several cases in which Justice Chanda as a practising lawyer - before he became a judge in 2019 - represented the BJP.

Hearing in the case rescheduled:

The Calcutta High Court's hearing on the case between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari over the electoral result in Nandigram has been rescheduled to Jun 24.

The hearing was earlier scheduled to be held on Friday.

Challenging the Nandigram result which had favoured Adhikari, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Banerjee on Thursday moved the high court.

After a close contest between the two heavyweights in the high profile Nandigram Assembly constituency, Banerjee lost to her confidante-turned opponent Adhikari by a margin of over 1,900 votes.

Banerjee had earlier questioned her defeat from Nandigram and also announced that she would move the court to challenge her loss.

She had also alleged an Election Commission officer was threatened in the counting room.

Though she had suffered a setback in Nandigram, Banerjee single-handedly led her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) to win 213 seats decimating the BJP which managed to win only 77.

Following the results, the BJP had elected Adhikari as the opposition leader in the state assembly.