In the summer of 2020, peak Covid-19 times Justice Dipankar Datta took charge as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court
New Delhi: Dipankar Datta, has now operated as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High court for two and a half years. On Sunday, the center reported his elevation to the Judge of the Supreme court. He was recommended for the aforementioned post on 22 September 2022.
Datta graduated from the University of Calcutta in 1989 and was enrolled as an Advocate in 1989. His father was former Calcutta High Court Judge, late (J) Salil Kumar Datta, and he is the brother-in-law of Justice Amitava Roy, former Supreme Court Judge.
During his occupancy in the Bombay High court, he passed judgments on various important assignments of civil and criminal PILs, infrastructure projects, and environment-related petitions, among others. On the administrative front, one of his noteworthy achievements was his efforts for the development of a new HC building in the Bandra Kurla Complex on a 30-acre plot.
Also, Read: Corruption Case: Bombay HC Grants Bail To Anil Deshmukh
January 2021 he was leading a division bench, that passed orders on various petitions. He also held ‘media trials’ guilty for ‘Contempt of court’, stating that media trials were interference with the administration of justice.
“The expression “administration of justice” in section 2(c)(iii) of the Contempt of Courts Act is sufficiently broad to include civil as well as criminal justice.” Alongside the judgement also chalked out various directives for the propagation and conduct of media.
In a span of couple of months, a bench headed by Datta, issued a preliminary CBI inquiry into then sitting State Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh with regards to a bunch of PILs alleging corruption.
Justice Datta’s bench played a significant role in aiding vaccination facility to those bedridden in the state of Maharashtra.
According to Datta, one of the most challenging PILs was the one where he was called upon to issue an interpretation for article 171and 166 of the constitution of India. The articles are regarding the Governor’s discretion to not nominate members to the Legislative Council as recommended by the Council of Ministers of the State of Maharashtra.
The then Governor had refused to nominate 12 LC members. Even though the court is not permitted to direct the Governor under article 361, Justice Datta, held the Governor accountable and stated that it was his duty to communicate his reservations within a stipulated time period.
Datta also played a significant ruling of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Having ruled on significance of responsible reporting Datta mandated digital news media and online publishers to adhere to the “Code of Ethics.”
The order read, “Dissent in democracy is vital… Opinion based on criticism reinforces its acceptance in a democratic society. For proper administration of the State, it is healthy to invite criticism of all those who are in public service for the nation to have a structured growth but with the 2021 Rules in place, one would have to think twice before criticizing any such personality, even if the writer/editor/publisher may have good reasons to do so without resorting to defamation and without inviting action under any other provision of law,”
Speaking at an event Datta instructed subordinate judiciary not to work under any kind of fear especially of being targeted while deciding bail applications. Additionally he said, rejecting bail applications under fear would be a “travesty and miscarriage of justice.”
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