West Bengal Advocate General Resigns Following TMC Defeat

Kolkata (IANS): West Bengal’s Advocate General (AG), Kishore Datta, tendered his resignation on Tuesday, a day after the Trinamool Congress’s defeat in the state assembly elections. Datta forwarded his resignation to Governor R.N. Ravi’s office at Lok Bhavan.

A Tenure of Legal Transitions

Datta’s resignation marks the end of his second term as the state’s top legal officer:

• Dual Appointments: Datta served as Advocate General twice during the 15-year Trinamool Congress regime.

• Close Ties: He was considered an extremely close confidant of outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

• Previous Departure: He originally resigned during a period of legal pressure regarding post-poll violence cases following the 2021 elections.

• Return to Office: Datta returned to the role in November 2023 after his successor, Soumendranath Mukherjee, resigned amid a series of legal setbacks in the Calcutta High Court.

Recent Legal Developments

The resignation coincides with immediate legal requests from the opposition:

• Judicial Intervention: On Monday morning, advocates from the BJP’s legal cell approached Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul.

• Request for Stay: The legal cell requested the court to put verdicts and orders in state-related cases on hold until a new state cabinet is formed.

The state government has faced significant legal challenges over the past several years, including the replacement of public prosecutor Saswata Gopal Mukherjee by Debasish Roy in late 2023.