West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to safeguard the Constitution, democracy, and judicial independence, while warning against what she described as the misuse of investigative agencies.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench building of the Calcutta High Court, Banerjee appealed to the CJI to ensure citizens are not unfairly targeted. “Please protect the Constitution, democracy, judiciary, history and geography, as well as the country’s borders, from disaster,” she said.
Calling the Chief Justice the “guardian of the Constitution,” Banerjee stressed that the judiciary must remain impartial. She also raised concerns over “media trials,” saying cases are increasingly debated publicly before verdicts are delivered.
“There should be no media trials before cases are finalised. This has become a tool to malign people. Agencies should not deliberately attempt to defame citizens. I am not speaking for myself—I am speaking to protect democracy, the people, the judiciary, and the Constitution. We are under your guardianship. Nobody is above you,” she added.
Her remarks come amid a standoff between the Enforcement Directorate and the West Bengal government after the agency raided 10 locations, including Trinamool’s political consultancy I-PAC, as part of a money-laundering probe.
Banerjee also highlighted the challenges faced by the legal fraternity, saying junior lawyers are struggling and not receiving their due benefits. She asked the CJI to pay special attention to supporting the next generation entering the profession.
On judicial infrastructure, she said the state government has expanded fast-track courts despite a halt in central funding. “Though the Centre has stopped funding, we are continuing the fast-track courts,” she said, referring to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who was present at the event.
According to Banerjee, West Bengal now has 88 fast-track courts, spending over Rs 1,200 crore. Of these, 52 are women’s courts, seven deal with POCSO cases, four are labour courts, and 19 are human rights courts.
She also described the new Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench building as “better than the Calcutta High Court building,” noting that the state allocated about 40.08 acres of prime land and spent over Rs 500 crore on construction. Additionally, 14 acres have been provided in Rajarhat, New Town, for a new Calcutta High Court building, and the state has set up six district judges’ courts and eight sub-divisional judges’ courts.