Cal HC asks Kolkata Police commissioner to file report on heckling of lawyers

Kolkata, May 2 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Kolkata Police commissioner to file a report on the alleged heckling of some lawyers on April 25 near the court premises and instructed him to ensure protection for members of the legal profession.
    A three-judge special bench directed the commissioner to conduct an inquiry and "identify the persons who were responsible and who participated in the unfortunate incident."
    The bench also instructed the commissioner to ensure the protection of members of the legal fraternity and take steps to prevent such incidents from recurring.
    The court directed the city police chief to file a report on May 19.
    Additionally, it directed the commissioner to preserve the CCTV footage of the incident that took place at the junction of Kiran Shankar Roy Road and Old Post Office Street, near the High Court premises, on the evening of April 25.
    Taking suo motu cognisance of the alleged incident, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam constituted the three-judge special bench comprising justices Arijit Banerjee, Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Rajarshi Bharadwaj to hear the matter.
    Taking up the issue, the bench observed that, 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 bench directed that notice be issued to eight alleged contemnors named in a petition and copies of all affidavits and other materials related to the contempt proceedings be made available to them.
    The bench also said the alleged contemnors would be at liberty to file their replies within a fortnight from the date of receipt of the notice.
    Taking note of the alleged incident, including the heckling of senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya by a mob, the Chief Justice’s bench on April 28 ordered that notices be served to the office of the Advocate General, the Additional Solicitor General, and the respective secretaries of the three wings of the Bar — the Bar Association, the Bar Library Club, and the Incorporated Law Society of the High Court.
    A few advocates had brought the April 25 incident to the attention of the Chief Justice’s bench, alleging that Bhattacharya and his associates were "gheraoed and heckled" by individuals outside their chambers opposite the High Court building.
    Claiming that the hecklers were probably associated with some litigants, the lawyers prayed that the court take cognisance of the issue.
    Complaints regarding the heckling have been lodged with police, they informed the court.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)