By John W. Thabah
The stern and prudent Justice Sanjib Banerjee, the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, demitted office today after a two-year tenure which has brought a lot of admiration for the judiciary among people in the State.
Justice Banerjee who joined as the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court on November 24, 2021 has earned the fear and high regard for the institution with his various judgments.
Justice Banerjee has won the respect of the people of Meghalaya through his judicial interventions on many issues of public interest.
At a special farewell function held at the High Court today, Advocate General Amit Kumar praised Justice Banerjee for his wisdom and legal experience. Kumar said that the rulings passed by Justice Banerjee “were rarely interfered by the Supreme Court”.
“You always upheld the rule of law. What you stood for is reflected in your judgments. By taking up issues faced by the common man, you have become a common man’s Chief Justice,” Kumar said, adding that Justice Banerjee has brought systemic change in the justice delivery system in Meghalaya.
Deputy Solicitor General of India, Nitesh Mozika said, “Your Lordship, you have turned the Meghalaya High Court into a sentinel of the people.” Mozika also praised the quality of judgements passed by Justice Banerjee.
Senior lawyer Subhasis Chakrawarty who is also the president Meghalaya High Court Bar Association while expressing gratitude to Justice Banerjee for his service as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court said, “You have taken this institution to great heights.”
Justice Banerjee took up a total of 324 cases of which the prominent ones were suo motu public interest litigations (PIL) on illegal coal mining, illegal coke factories, protection of Umiam Lake and water bodies in the State besides PILs on traffic jam in Shillong, delay to complete the Umshyrpi – Dawki highway, delay to expand the Umroi airport among others.
He passed strong orders against the involvement of those in the government in the illegal coal mining. It was on his orders that the process for auction of assessed coal was started. He also got many operators of illegal coke plants arrested and the plants shut down.
Justice Banerjee also saved the Umiam Lake from destruction by the rich and the mighty when he directed closure of all hotels, resorts and business establishments built along the road near the lake till the State government came up with stringent guidelines on protection of the water bodies.
It was on his orders that the first package of the four-lane highway project from Umshyrpi to Mylliem started to see the light of day again when the National Highway Development Corporation Limited (NHDCL) got a new contractor to resume the abandoned project and also to settle the land hurdles.
It was under his tenure that new things took shape in the Meghalaya High Court. These included the starting of hybrid mode of court hearing and live streaming of High Court proceedings. Besides, he showed keen interest in the development of judicial infrastructures in Meghalaya.
