Acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre, who retired today, said she is still in the dark as to why she had been transferred to Calcutta High Court from Bombay High Court.
Justice Mhatre said, "It is still not clear to me why I was transferred as the Supreme Court Collegium had not assigned any reason for the transfer recommendation."
"The transfer five years and nine months back had come as a blow to me and I had even contemplated stepping down.
"But my family advised against any such move and with the support of my family, I came here," she said at her farewell.
Mhatre was transferred to Calcutta High Court on December 27, 2011 and was sworn-in as its judge on January 6, 2012.
Stating that she had a negative impression about the city when she was transferred, Mhatre said all that has changed over the years and she was leaving with many happy memories.
"I have had a good Bar (lawyers) and I am overwhelmed at the support and affection I received here," she said.
Thanking the Acting Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court Bar Library Club president Jayanta Mitra said that Justice Mhatre has enriched the high court with her strong and tolerant persona.
"Calcutta High Court has produced many top lawyers in the country and though that share may have diminished a little, but as you have surely found the people here are as good as before," Mitra, a former Advocate General of West Bengal, said in his speech.
High Court Bar Association president Uttam Majumdar said that Justice Mhatre has given equal opportunity to both the seniors and the junior lawyers to present their case and has been calm and receptive of divergent views during situations like lawyers' strike and other issues.
Mhatre, who had graduated in microbiology from Sophia College, Mumbai, had veered into the legal profession in 1978 after completing her degree in law from Government Law College, Mumbai.
She practised in the industrial tribunal and labour court, motor accidents claims tribunal and Bomabay High Court.
Mhatre was sworn-in as an additional judge of Bombay High Court on March 28, 2001 and became a permanent judge there on March 21, 2003.
Nearly four years after her transfer to Kolkata, she was appointed the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court on December one, 2016.
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