Despite the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Manjula Chellur expressing her displeasure over three-day cease-work announced by the High Court’s bar association, lawyers stayed from work on Wednesday.
This prompted the Chief Justice to call the action of lawyers as “irritating and painful.”
All the courtrooms at the High Court were open and the judges were present, but the absence of the lawyers meant there was no hearing of the cases. Several important cases including the bail petition of several of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders also had to be deferred owing to the cessation of work. The Court will start working from Monday.
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A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi raised questions during the day on who will take responsibility of the delay faced by litigants. The Bench observed that when people from other professions can work in the heat, what prevents lawyers from working.
The Division Bench also directed that if any lawyer wanted to appear in the courtroom he could without their coats and gowns as the lawyer’s room was locked during the day.
The bar association has sighted the heat as a reason for their resolution call for three-day strike beginning Wednesday. The High Court had re-opened on June 1 after a summer break.
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“This is childish. Lawyers are behaving like schoolchildren. It’s like school students pleading with their madam to grant them leave because of the heat outside,” the Chief Justice had said on Tuesday after the bar association submitted the resolution of cessation of work.
Justice Chellur had in the past expressed strong displeasure over lawyers staying away from work on grounds of extended Holi vacation.