Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash, who retired as a Calcutta High Court judge on Monday, revealed that he is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Speaking at his farewell at the high court in front of the judges and members of the bar, Justice Dash stated that he was "ready to go back to the organisation" if they called him for any assistance or work that he was capable of doing. "To the distaste of some persons, I must admit here that I was and I am a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)," he added.
Justice Dash was transferred to the Calcutta High Court from the Orissa High Court after serving for more than 14 years as a high court judge. "I owe a lot to the organisation... I am there from my childhood and throughout my youth," he stated. "I have learnt to be courageous, upright and have an equal view for others and above all, the sense of patriotism and commitment to the work," he stated.
Justice Dash said that he had distanced himself from the organisation for approximately 37 years due to the work he did. "I have never used my membership of the organisation for any advancement of my career because it is against its principles," he stated. Justice Dash said that he treated everyone equally, whether they were rich or poor, communists, BJP, Congress, or TMC (Trinamool Congress).
"All are equal before me, I do not hold any bias for anyone or any particular political philosophy or mechanism," he said, adding that he tried to dispense justice on the principles of empathy and that "law can be bent to do justice, but justice cannot be bent to suit the law". He said that he was "ready to go back to the organisation" if they called him for assistance or work that he was capable of doing.
"Because I have not done anything wrong in my life, I have the courage to say I belong to the organisation, because that is also not wrong," he said, adding that if he was a good person, he could not belong to a bad organisation.
Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash's Early Life, Career
Dash was born in Sonepur, Odisha, in 1962. He attended school in Ullunda and furthered his education in Dhenkanal and Bhubaneswar before graduating in law from Cuttack in 1985. He became an advocate in 1986 and was appointed as the state government's additional standing counsel in 1992, a position he held until 1994, according to the Calcutta High Court's website.
In February 1999, he joined the Orissa Superior Judicial Service (Senior Branch) as a direct recruit. In October 2009, he was elevated as an additional judge of the Orissa High Court. Dash joined the Calcutta High Court as a judge on transfer on June 20, 2022.
