Judge who criticised Mamata Banerjee receives threatening phone calls
In a recent appearance on local television, a retired judge in Kolkata was critical of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Since then, he has received a series of threatening phone calls, and has filed a police case. Samaresh Banerjee, a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court, participated in a TV discussion of Ms Banerjee's remarks this week about the judiciary- she said that verdicts can be bought. A case of contempt of court was filed against her in the High Court on Thursday.
On Wednesday night, Justice Banerjee received two phone calls. One caller claimed he was a journalist with an English daily and harangued the judge about his critique of Ms Banerjee. The judge contacted a slew of English newspapers who said their reporters had not called him.
Then came another call. Without revealing his name, the caller said that the legal cell of the chief minister's party, the ruling Trinamool Congress, was compiling a list of corrupt judges and Mr Banerjee's name was on that list.
Justice Banerjee filed a police complaint. On Thursday, he was on TV for another panel discussion about the chief minister when his wife received a call at home from a mobile number. Justice Banerjee's landline has caller ID. The caller was a woman, and she threatened the judge's wife that rumours would be spread that the judge had raped his domestic help. The judge again filed a police complaint.
The last few weeks have seen wide criticism of Ms Banerjee and her administration for being intolerant of any dissent. Earlier this month, a farmer who questioned her at a rally was arrested. The state's human rights commission has just fined her government a lakh for arresting a professor and his associate in April for emailing a cartoon that featured the chief minister. After that verdict, Ms Banerjee did not name the head of the commission, a retired Supreme Court judge, but suggested that he was exceeding his brief.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/judge-who-criticised-mamata-receives-threatening-phone-calls-256075?pfrom=home-topstories
On Wednesday night, Justice Banerjee received two phone calls. One caller claimed he was a journalist with an English daily and harangued the judge about his critique of Ms Banerjee. The judge contacted a slew of English newspapers who said their reporters had not called him.
Then came another call. Without revealing his name, the caller said that the legal cell of the chief minister's party, the ruling Trinamool Congress, was compiling a list of corrupt judges and Mr Banerjee's name was on that list.
Justice Banerjee filed a police complaint. On Thursday, he was on TV for another panel discussion about the chief minister when his wife received a call at home from a mobile number. Justice Banerjee's landline has caller ID. The caller was a woman, and she threatened the judge's wife that rumours would be spread that the judge had raped his domestic help. The judge again filed a police complaint.
The last few weeks have seen wide criticism of Ms Banerjee and her administration for being intolerant of any dissent. Earlier this month, a farmer who questioned her at a rally was arrested. The state's human rights commission has just fined her government a lakh for arresting a professor and his associate in April for emailing a cartoon that featured the chief minister. After that verdict, Ms Banerjee did not name the head of the commission, a retired Supreme Court judge, but suggested that he was exceeding his brief.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/judge-who-criticised-mamata-receives-threatening-phone-calls-256075?pfrom=home-topstories
