Calcutta HC rejects PIL seeking removal of Dhankhar as West Bengal governor

Kolkata, Feb 18: The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected a PIL seeking direction to the Union government to remove Jagdeep Dhankhar as the governor of West Bengal.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj said that the governor is not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office under Article 361 of Constitution.

The bench rejected the petition that sought direction to the Union government to remove Dhankhar as the governor of West Bengal.

Petitioner Rama Prasad Sarkar, a lawyer practising at the high court, claimed in the writ petition that Dhankhar is interfering in the functioning of the state and also maligning the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal by commenting critically against it.

The petitioner claimed that Dhankhar is ''acting as the mouthpiece of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)''.

Seeking direction to the Centre for removal of Dhankhar as governor alleging that he is partisan, Sarkar's petition claimed that he is bypassing the state council of ministers and dictating officials directly, ''which is violative of the Constitution''.