The Calcutta High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking the removal of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on grounds that he was destroying the spirit of federalism. A Bench of Chief Justice Pakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj dismissed the petition filed by lawyer Rama Prasad Sarkar on the grounds that the court, even with the limited scope of judicial review in the case, was not satisfied that the material placed along with the petition furnished any ground to entertain the plea.
Chief Justice Srivastava observed that Article 361 of the Constitution provides that the Governor shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office or for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of those powers and duties. He added that counsel for the petitioner in this case was not able to state the exact reasons behind filing the petition.
The PIL was filed by lawyer Rama Prasad Sarkar seeking removal of the Governor as he was indulging in unconstitutional activities. Counsel for the petitioner also appealed for the transfer of the hearing to any other state. On behalf of the Union government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that such petitions are not only baseless but are also done with a propaganda motive.
“So the petitioner should be fined so that no one in the future can dare to file similar petitions,” he said. The court, however, didn’t impose any fine on the petitioner.
