New judges made to wait for Mamata's signature to take oath

Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) The swearing-in ceremony of seven new judges of the Calcutta High Court had to be deferred by several hours Monday as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not signed the required papers.

"The swearing-in ceremony had to be delayed because some of the papers had not been signed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. After getting the due signature, the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice J.N. Patel to the seven new judges," a High Court official said.

Terming the incident as "unprecedented", well-known advocate and Congress leader Arunava Ghosh said: "I cannot find any reason as to why she (Banerjee) did not sign the papers. This is unprecedented and unbelievable."

Of the seven new judges, five have been appointed as permanent judges while the other two are additional judges.

The new appointments have increased the strength of judges in the Calcutta High Court to 43.