A section of lawyers on Monday held protests outside the courtroom of a Calcutta High Court judge, prompting the judge to leave the courtroom. Several posters targeting the judge had come up in the premises of the Calcutta High Court, and also near the judge’s residence in south Kolkata.
From Monday morning, a group of lawyers laid siege outside Court Number 13 of the High Court, which is presided by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha. There was a scuffle between the protesting lawyers and those who tried to enter the courtroom. In the pandemonium, Justice Mantha left the Bench and matter listed before his court could not be heard. The protesting lawyers boycotted Justice Mantha’s Bench.
A group of lawyers brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Justice of the High Court, Prakash Srivastava. The Chief Justice sought video footage of the gallery outside Court Number 13.
While none of the protestors told mediapersons why they were agitating, it was clear from the posters that they were upset with the judge’s recent orders, wherein he had granted relief to Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. Justice Mantha had stayed First Information Reports (FIR) lodged by the West Bengal Police against Mr. Adhikari. A section of senior lawyers, including senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya who has sought the intervention of the Chief Justice, criticised the behaviour of the protesting lawyers.
The development also evoked strong reactions from the BJP. Amit Malviya, BJP IT chief and the party’s co-in-charge in West Bengal tweeted: “TMC (Trinamool Congress) wants a committed judiciary. Posters targeting Justice Rajshekhar Mantha plastered all over Kolkata HC. Lawyers aligned to the TMC blocked his Court. CJ had to intervene. Sought CCTV footage for Court # 13. Meeting of Judges in progress to discuss the assault on judiciary.”
Only a few days ago, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had criticised Justice Mantha for orders relating to Mr. Adhikari.
