Earlier on January 9, 2023, posters against Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court were put up in the premises of the Calcutta High Court and near his residence in Kolkata. , Photo Credit: Debashish Bhaduri
Calcutta High Court Justice Rajasekhar Mantha issued this order on Tuesday self motivation criminal contempt proceedings against A group of lawyers protested and blocked his entry into the court on Monday.
On Monday, lawyers created a ruckus and scuffle outside Justice Mantha’s courtroom after they were not allowed to enter the court, leading to the adjournment of the proceedings. Posters against Mr Mantha were put up on the High Court premises and at his residence in South Kolkata.
The posters were hurriedly removed by the Kolkata Police on Tuesday and a complaint was filed by the Kolkata Police, however no arrests were made. Meanwhile, Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava on Monday expressed displeasure over the developments.
Mantha’s stay order on the FIR against the officer
Justice Mantha had in December 2022 passed an order staying 26 FIRs filed against Leader of the Opposition Shubhendu Adhikari. He had also withdrawn the security of Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s sister-in-law Maneka Gambhir.
While the Trinamool Congress leadership said they had nothing to do with the protest and the posters, opposition parties blamed the ruling dispensation for the uproar in the High Court.
“Since Trinamool is unable to fight legally before the courts, they are doing hooliganism. This is a well-planned conspiracy by Trinamool.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said that if the judges of the Calcutta High Court are under so much pressure, one can imagine the condition of the district judiciary.
‘Attempt to terrorize the judiciary’
Reacting to the developments, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court said that the developments in the High Court were an attempt to terrorize the judiciary. “The judiciary cannot be terrorized like this,” Justice Gangopadhyay said, adding that “a section of people” were behind the development.
Justice Gangopadhyay, the current judge of the High Court, had directed investigations by central investigative agencies into several cases related to recruitment scams in schools across the state.
The developments also revealed differences in the Calcutta High Court Bar Association regarding Justice Mantha’s alleged attempts to boycott the court.
On Monday, the Assistant Secretary of the Bar Association had written to the Chief Justice saying that the members of the Bar Association shall abstain from judicial proceedings before the Court of Justice Mantha in order to maintain peace and tranquility among the members of the Bar.
Reacting to this, the members of the Executive Committee and the Vice President of the Bar Association on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Chief Justice condemning the proposal of the Association on Monday.