The court observed that although these eight people were represented by their lawyers, “none had submitted an affidavit before the bench.”
Kolkata, May 19 – The Calcutta High Court has taken serious note of an incident where lawyers were allegedly heckled near the court premises on April 25. Acting on the matter, a special three-judge bench of the High Court issued a contempt rule against eight people on Monday.
This decision was taken after a report on the incident was submitted by the Kolkata Police Commissioner in line with the court’s earlier directions. The bench asked the eight individuals, who have been accused of contempt, to file their written replies by June 16, the next date of hearing.
The court observed that although these eight people were represented by their lawyers, “none had submitted an affidavit before the bench.“
The matter came to light when Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the alleged heckling incident.
A special three-judge bench was set up for this case, including Justices Arijit Banerjee, Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Rajarshi Bharadwaj.
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The court had earlier, on May 2, ordered the Kolkata Police Commissioner to conduct a full investigation. It also directed him to make sure that lawyers are kept safe in the future.
“The bench had on May 2 directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to file a report on the alleged heckling of lawyers and instructed him to ensure their protection.”
In response, the Police Commissioner was told to preserve the CCTV footage of the incident that took place at the junction of Kiran Shankar Roy Road and Old Post Office Street, which is close to the High Court.
The court also issued the following direction:
“The three-judge special bench directed the Kolkata police commissioner to hold an inquiry and identify the persons responsible for heckling the lawyers.”
The bench further stated:
“The bench also directed him to ensure the protection of lawyers and see that such incidents do not recur.”
According to the High Court’s earlier observation:
“On May 2, the bench had said prima facie it was of the view that criminal contempt had been committed by interfering with due administration of justice and scandalising the judiciary.”
The incident is said to involve the alleged heckling of several lawyers, including senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya.
The matter will now be heard again on June 16, by which time the accused must submit their responses. The High Court is treating this as a serious interference with the administration of justice and has promised firm action to prevent any recurrence of such incidents.
