Suvra Ghosh (born 23 April 1968) is an Indian judge, currently sitting on the Calcutta High Court in West Bengal.[1] She has adjudicated in a number of significant cases, including those concerning the imposition of the death penalty in India, and notably imposed a fine on the Calcutta High Court itself after ruling that the Court had previously erred in ordering a magistrate to retire following alleged misconduct.[2]
Hon'ble Ms. Justice Suvra Ghosh | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Calcutta High Court | |
| Assumed office 19 November 2018 | |
| Nominated by | Ranjan Gogoi |
| Appointed by | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 April 1968 |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta |
Education
editGhosh was educated in Kolkata, and studied law at the University of Calcutta, earning an integrated arts and law (B.A., LL.B.) degree in 1991.[1]
Career
editGhosh qualified into the judiciary by the West Bengal Judicial Service Examination in 1992. She was appointed a Civil Judge and later qualified into the Higher Judicial Service as well. She was the Registrar of the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, a joint secretary in the Government of West Bengal's Department of Law, and a District and Sessions Judge in Darjeeling and Kolkata. On 19 November 2018, Ghosh was appointed an additional judge of the Calcutta High Court, which is the highest judicial forum for the state of West Bengal, and her appointment was made permanent on 4 May 2020.[1][3]
Notable judgments
editIn June 2019, Ghosh and another judge refused to order doctors in West Bengal to return to work after they went on strike to protest physical assault against doctors by families of patients in hospital. Ghosh instead asked the Government of West Bengal to negotiate with the doctors on strike to arrive at a resolution, in a widely-reported opinion.[4][5][6][7] In the same month, Ghosh acquitted three persons who had been wrongly accused of collaborating with Maoist insurgents in India and imprisoned for 14 years pending trial, finding that there was no evidence that they had committed any crimes.[8][9]
In July 2019, Ghosh and another judge, Sanjib Banerjee, held that the Calcutta High Court's administration had erred in ordering a railway magistrate to be suspended and forced to retire, after he passed an order rebuking railway officials for delays in trains. Holding that the administration's ruling was "disproportionate" and "shocking", they ordered a fine of ₹100,000 (equivalent to ₹120,000 or US$1,400 in 2023) to be paid by the High Court administration and reinstated the magistrate. Their ruling attracted wide attention, as it was reported as a case of the Calcutta High Court fining itself.[2][10]
In December 2019, Ghosh and another judge, Joymalya Bagchi, commuted an order of death penalty to life imprisonment, in the case of a man convicted of being in possession of heroin. In their ruling, Ghosh and Bagchi held that statistical data did not indicate that the imposition of capital punishment acted as a deterrent to crime as one of their reasons for commuting the sentence.[11][12]
In September 2020, the then Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, constituted special benches to hear cases relating to financial frauds, corruption, and Ponzi schemes, appointing Judge Suvra Ghosh and Judge Joymalya Bagchi to hear all such cases that involved former legislative representatives.[13][14] They are expected to hear a number of cases, including those relating to the Saradha Group financial scandal.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c "The Hon'ble Justice Suvra Ghosh". Calcutta High Court.
- ^ a b Service, Tribune News. "Calcutta HC imposes Rs 1 L 'cost' on itself". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "SC Collegium recommends elevation of 5 judicial officers as Judges of Karnataka HC". in.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ Scroll Staff. "Calcutta HC asks state to persuade protesting doctors, refuses to pass interim order on strike". Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Refusing interim order on doctors' strike, Calcutta HC asks state govt to persuade them to work". The Indian Express. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ NETWORK, LIVELAW NEWS (15 June 2019). "Reconcile!, Calcutta HC Tells 'Striking' Doctors; Reminds Them About Hippocratic Oath [Read Order]". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Calcutta High Court refuses to pass interim order on Bengal doctors' strike". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Kolkata: Three 'Maoists' Acquitted After Spending 14 Years in Jail". The Wire. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ Sebastian, Manu (26 June 2019). "Calcutta HC Sets Aside Conviction Of Alleged Maoists For Sedition After 13 Years [Read Judgment]". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ Kini, Ashok (6 July 2019). "Calcutta HC Reinstates Magistrate Who Was Compulsorily Retired; Imposes 1 Lakh Costs On Itself [Read Judgment]". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ Saxena, Akshita (5 December 2019). "No Data To Conclusively Establish That Imposition Of Death Penalty Leads To Reduction Of Crime: Calcutta HC [Read Judgment]". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Death commuted to 30 years in jail". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Calcutta HC forms benches for Ponzi scheme matters, criminal cases involving lawmakers". Hindustan Times. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "New benches at Calcutta HC for hearing criminal cases against lawmakers". Outlook India. Retrieved 26 November 2020.