New Delhi, (PTI): Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta was on Monday administered the oath of office as a Supreme Court judge by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud.
Justice Datta, son of the late Salil Kumar Datta, a former judge of the Calcutta High Court, and brother-in-law of justice Amitava Roy, who was a former judge of the apex court, took oath at 10:36 am in courtroom 1 of the Supreme Court.
With the swearing-in of Justice Datta, the total number of judges in the apex court has reached 28 against the sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI.
On Sunday, the Department of Justice in the Union Law Ministry issued a notification announcing his appointment.
Born on February 9, 1965, Justice Datta turned 57 this year and will have a tenure till February 8, 2030. The retirement age in the apex court is 65.
His name was recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium then headed by Justice U U Lalit (now retired) in September last year.
Justice Datta was elevated to the bench of the Calcutta High Court as a permanent judge on June 22, 2006.
He was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on April 28, 2020.
According to details available on the website of the Calcutta High Court, he was awarded an LL.B. degree by the University of Calcutta in 1989 and he enrolled as an advocate on November 16, 1989.
He was the junior standing counsel for the State of West Bengal from May 16, 2002 to January 16, 2004 and was also a counsel for the Union of India since 1998.
He was a guest lecturer on Constitutional Law of India at the University College of Law, University of Calcutta, from 1996-97 to 1999-2000.
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Kejriwal resorting to 'vendetta politics', says BJP after MP Sandeep Pathak booked
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Saturday accused Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of vendetta politics after Punjab Police booked Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently defected to the BJP.
In an X post, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Kejriwal is misusing the Punjab Police to settle political scores, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has become a party to it.
"Two FIRs have been filed against Sandeep Pathak, who until recently was in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary (organisation). What is baffling is the shameless, brazen vendetta politics being pursued by Arvind Kejriwal, with Bhagwant Mann complicit in it," Poonawalla said.
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"It is clear this has been done out of vendetta politics by Kejriwal, who is extremely vengeful and vindictive, and misuses the Punjab Police to pursue such political vendetta," he alleged.
Questioning the timing of the FIRs, Poonawalla said, "If these cases existed from the beginning, why were FIRs not filed earlier? If he was corrupt, why was he kept in the party for so long, especially when he was the general secretary (organisation)? Has any new material surfaced in the last few days, or has the alleged corruption occurred only now?"
He alleged that Kejriwal has an "old habit" of targeting political opponents and dissenters.
"We have seen how he has used the police against rivals, including Congress leaders. This is his old habit," Poonawalla said, referring to the withdrawal of Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh's security.
Poonawalla claimed that several leaders who had left AAP over the years, including Yogendra Yadav, Mayank Gandhi, Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh and Alka Lamba, were "hounded".
He accused the party of failing to introspect.
"Instead of introspecting on how they have changed -- from Anna to Lalu, from Lokpal to corruption -- they are indulging in vendetta politics, trying to victimise people using the strong arm of the law. This reflects an Emergency-like mindset and a dictatorial, Hitlerian mindset," he said.
According to sources, two FIRs have been lodged against Pathak under non-bailable sections.
No further details about the FIRs have been disclosed yet.
On April 24, the AAP suffered a jolt when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs quit, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal's party has strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
Of the seven MPs -- who were Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal -- six were from Punjab.
Later, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan officially accepted their merger with the BJP, reducing AAP's strength in the Upper House to three.
