Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, May 2: A three-judge special bench of the Calcutta High Court, formed to address the harassment of advocates and the public maligning of a judge during protests last month, has directed Kolkata police commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma to personally investigate the matter. The case stems from protest demonstrations against senior advocate and CPI-M Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya.
The bench, consisting of Justices Arijit Bandopadhyay, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, and Rajarshi Bharadwaj, ordered the police commissioner to file a detailed report after completing the investigation as soon as possible. The court also instructed the police to preserve CCTV footage from the protest site in front of Bhattacharya’s office, located near the Calcutta High Court complex.
In addition, the court directed those legal notices be served to 15 individuals, including Trinamool Congress state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh, in connection with the incident. The Registrar General of the high court has been tasked with ensuring the notices are served.
During the hearing on Friday, the bench remarked that the protest demonstration was "quite unfortunate" and amounted to criminal contempt of court. The protests, which took place in front of Bhattacharya’s chamber, were sparked by the senior advocate’s role in the hearings of the school job scam cases in West Bengal. Protesters claimed that Bhattacharya’s arguments had influenced negative court orders, leading to the termination of jobs for several teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools.
The protests escalated with derogatory remarks directed at Justice Biswajit Basu, who had made negative observations in relation to the school job scam cases.
On April 29, the Calcutta High Court initiated suo motu proceedings after members of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association raised concerns about the protests. Chief justice T S Sivagnanam and justice Chaitali Chattopadhyay admitted the petition, with the Chief Justice directing Kolkata Police to identify those involved in the disturbances. The police commissioner was also instructed to explain how such an incident occurred despite police presence at the scene.