Posters against Calcutta High Court Judge have been put up in the premises of Calcutta High Court. , Photo Credit: Debashish Bhaduri
A section of lawyers on Monday protested outside the courtroom of a Calcutta High Court judge, following which the judge had to walk out of the courtroom. Several posters targeting the judge were put up in the premises of the Calcutta High Court and also near the judge’s residence in South Kolkata.
Since Monday morning, a group of lawyers gheraoed outside Court No. 13 of the High Court, which is presided over by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha. There was also a scuffle between the protesting lawyers and those who tried to barge into the courtroom. In the uproar, Justice Mantha walked out of the bench and the 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 High Court Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava. The Chief Justice sought video footage of the gallery outside Court No. 13.
Although none of the protesters told media persons why they were agitating, it was clear from the posters that they were upset over the judge’s recent orders, in which they Relief to Shubhendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Justice Mantha had stayed the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the West Bengal Police against Mr Adhikari. A section of senior lawyers, including senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who sought the intervention of the Chief Justice, criticized the behavior of the protesting lawyers.
This development has also drawn sharp reactions from the BJP. BJP IT chief and party’s co-incharge in West Bengal Amit Malviya tweeted: “TMC (Trinamool Congress) wants a committed judiciary. Posters targeting Justice Rajasekhar Mantha put up all over the Calcutta High Court. Lawyers associated with TMC blocked his court. CJ had to intervene. Asked for CCTV footage for court number 13. The judges’ meeting is going on to discuss the attack on the judiciary.
A few days ago, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh criticized Justice Mantha for the orders related to Mr Adhikari.