HC Deb 14 April 1893 vol 11 cc324-5
SIR WILLIAM WEDDERBURN (Banffshire)

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for India whether the Secretary of State for India is aware that Mr. K. M. Chatterji, acting third Judge of the Small Cause Court at Calcutta (who has been superseded by the appointment of Mr. E. W. Ormond to act as second Judge), is a judicial officer of distinguished merit and qualifications; that he has practised as a barrister-at-law both in the North-West Provinces and in Calcutta; that he has been Tagore Law Lecturer, and reporter for the Indian Law Reports; that he is well versed in Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit: that he has thorough experience in the practice of the Small Cause Court; and that the High Court at Calcutta has testified to his efficiency as a Judge; and whether the Secretary of State will cause inquiry to be made as to the reasons for which he has been superseded by the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal?

*THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Mr. GEORGE RUSSELL,) North Beds.

There is little to add to the answer given on the 10th instant to the questions asked by my hon. Friend, and by my hon. Friend the Member for Pembroke. The appointment of Judges in the Presidency Small Cause Courts is by law vested in the Local Governments, subject to the control of the Governor General in Council. Mr. Kishore Mohun Chatterji is, no doubt, a person of considerable merits and qualifications, or he would not have been appointed to the office he now holds. But no Judge has any right to promotion, and the Secretary of State cannot admit that when, in the course of his discretion, the Lieutenant Governor made the appointment which he considered best for the Public Service, it would be right to call upon him to state his reasons, beyond the fact that he was satisfied of the competence of Mr. Ormond for the post, and that it was for the interests of the Service that he should be appointed. It appears that the Lieutenant Governor consulted the Chief Judge of the Small Cause Court and the Chief Justice of the High Court, who both approved of the course taken by him, that Mr. Ormond should be appointed to act as second Judge in preference to Mr. Chatterji. The matter is one which is entirely within the discretion of the Governments in India, and the Secretary of State sees no reason for taking any action regarding it.