Kolkata, May 20: Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash, who retired as a judge of the Calcutta High Court on Monday, said he was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS).
Speaking at his farewell at the high court in the presence of the judges and members of the bar, Justice Dash said he was "ready to go back to the organisation" if they call him for any assistance or for any work that he was capable of doing.
"To the distaste of some persons, I must admit here that I was and I am a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS)," he said.
Demitting office after over 14 years as a judge, Justice Dash came to the Calcutta HC from the Orissa HC on transfer.
"I owe a lot to the organisation... I am there from my childhood and throughout my youth," he said.
"I have learnt to be courageous, upright and have an equal view for others and above the sense of patriotism and commitment to the work," he said.
Justice Dash said that he had distanced himself from the organisation for about 37 years because of his work.
"I have never used my membership of the organisation for any advancement of my career because it is against its principles," he said.
Justice Dash said he treated everybody at par, be he a rich person, be he a communist, or from the BJP, Congress or TMC.
"All are equal before me, I do not hold any bias for anyone or for any political philosophy or mechanism," he said, adding that he tried to dispense justice on the principles of empathy and that "law can be bent to do justice, but justice cannot be bent to suit the law".
He said that he is "ready to go back to the organisation" if they call him for any assistance or for any work they need which he is capable of doing.
"Because I have not done anything wrong in my life, I have the courage to say I belong to the organisation, because that is also not wrong," he said.
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Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
