Ganguly's papers accepted; says charges baseless

Speculations and rumours over Justice A K Ganguly quitting as chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) were put to rest on Tuesday after Governor M K Narayanan accepted his resignation.

Justice Ganguly’s meeting with the governor on Monday gave rise to rumours that he had resigned, which were confirmed by official sources on Tuesday.

The retired Supreme Court judge wrote in his resignation letter that “to obviate any further controversy and to ensure peace and happiness of the members of my family and having regard to the fact that I held high office of a judge and presently holding the post of chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission and being humbly of the view that I have possibly lived up to the expectations of both, I have decided to resign from the post of the chairman of the commission with immediate effect.”

Justice Ganguly, however, stuck to his stand that he was not guilty. “The charges made against me in the media are unfounded and baseless. The purported recommendation to the Hon’ble President for my removal, are based on the grounds, which, in my opinion, are untenable and misconceived,” he stated in the two-page hand-written letter.

He further wrote that he holds no rancour towards any of his detractors and wished them well in life, one of the prime reasons behind his resignation is pressure from his family to step down.

“I have no attachment to any post unless I can work with dignity and honour and I am resigning from the office to save my dignity,” the letter stated. Justice Ganguly  also called up the WBHRC staff on Tuesday and told them that he would not be attending office any further. Sources said the governor has forwarded the resignation letter to the chief minister and also to President Pranab Mukherjee.