West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the judiciary, alleging that several judgments delivered by courts were purchased.

"Money is paid to buy many (favourable) judgments. Corruption has crept into democracy and judiciary. Why should this happen? This is most unfortunate. I know people may file defamation suits against me for this. But I am not afraid of money and muscle power," said Mamata during a function held to mark 75 years of the Assembly on Tuesday.

The concluding-day function was held on the premises of the Assembly itself with not only ministers of her Cabinet but former Assembly Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim and Leader of the Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra in attendance.

The Chief Minister also hit out at the commissions whose officials, she felt, were "there to make money and build houses and buy cars".

Mamata's disparaging statements comes a day after the West Bengal Human Right Commission (WBHRC) pulled up the state government over the arrest of a Jadavpur University professor for circulating a "derogatory" cartoon of Mamata.

Criticising WBHRC chairman Ashok Ganguly, a former Supreme Court judge, she said: "We brought one person whom we thought would work in an unbiased manner. Did not know he had no knowledge of what to do or his limits. He writes orders thinking he is the President of India. He calls our executives and makes them wait for 12 hours.''

Justice Ganguly, meanwhile, said: "I thought it was the High Court judges who were her (the CM's) target. I don't know whether it was against me or not. I cannot comment,'' Ganguly told The Indian Express.

He further said the recommendations of the WBHRC were not binding on the government.

Eminent members of the legal fraternity condemned the statements about the judiciary made inside the state legislature.

"In India, one has the freedom of expression but that does not mean you transgress all limits. Judiciary and the executive should respect each other, otherwise the whole of our constitutional edifice will collapse,'' Justice (retd) Chittotosh Mukherjee, former chief justice of Bombay High Court, said.

The CPM, too, criticised the Chief Minister's statement. "The judiciary and the executive should not blame each other. It's an unhealthy trend,'' Surya Kanta Mishra said after the function at the assembly.

Mamata's ire against the judiciary had been brewing for quite some time with the Calcutta High Court delivering several judgments that has left the state government red-faced over the last one year .

The most significant judgment was the one on the Singur Rehabilitation and Development Act, aimed at returning land to farmers at Singur, null and void. The state government has challenged the order in the Supreme Court.

ALSO READ Buddha corners Didi over crime against women, development

Please read our terms of use before posting comments