Calcutta High Court Upholds Probe into Kajori Banerjee’s Role as College President
In a key development, the Calcutta High Court has backed a lower court order questioning the appointment of Kajori Banerjee as President of the working committee at Kolkata’s prestigious Rani Birla Girls’ College. Kajori, who is the sister-in-law of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) councillor, isn’t an educationist by background. The court wants a deeper look into her eligibility for the post.
This all started on September 17 when Justice Bivas Pattanayak raised serious doubts. He asked how someone without ties to education could lead the committee of such a top girls’ college in Kolkata. Under the law, the president must be "a person associated with education." But Kajori is mainly known for her role as a councillor, with no clear academic credentials. "We need to check if her appointment follows the rules," Justice Pattanayak noted during the hearing.
Kajori didn’t take this lightly. She quickly challenged the order before a division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobrata Kumar Mitra. However, on Friday, the bench turned down her plea and stood firmly behind Justice Pattanayak’s decision. They made it clear that the single-judge bench will handle the ongoing hearings, with the next one set for eight weeks later.
The case ties back to some drama at the college last month. On August 29, Kajori issued a show-cause notice and a suspension order against Principal Srabanti Bhattacharya. The principal fought back by approaching Justice Biswajit Basu’s bench. But the state government’s lawyer asked Justice Basu to step aside, which upset him. He eventually recused himself, and the matter landed with Justice Pattanayak.
During the September 17 hearing, Justice Pattanayak stepped in with an interim stay on both the notice and suspension. This pause will last another eight weeks, keeping things steady until the next update in six weeks. For now, the focus stays on whether Kajori’s leadership role at Rani Birla Girls’ College meets legal standards.
This ongoing Calcutta High Court case has sparked interest in West Bengal politics and education rules, especially with family links to the CM’s office in the spotlight. Stay tuned for more on this Kolkata college controversy.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
