Calcutta High Court sounds alarm after lawyers threaten staff, demand courtroom for political meeting

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam on Friday flagged a "nasty incident" where lawyers affiliated to a political party were said to have barged into the office of the High Court's Registrar General and demanded that the staff open a courtroom to conduct their "political meeting.".The Chief Justice said that two lawyers - Falguni Bandopadhyay and Rajesh Shah - who were among this group of lawyers, have been identified as office bearers the Bar Association. This conduct of the lawyers, the Chief Justice said, was unacceptable and unpardonable."This is unacceptable. There are so many documents and records kept in a courtroom. How can members of the Bar threaten poor staff and get the court opened? Day before yesterday, there was a group of 40 lawyers meeting in a courtroom and they were fighting with each other. The staff was so much afraid," Chief Justice Sivagnanam told to the lawyers present in his courtroom. .Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Ashoke Kr Chakraborty termed the incident as an unfortunate one. He assured the Court that he would personally look into the issue. .Chief Justice Sivagnanam went on to comment that lawyers must protect the sanctity of the judicial institution."The sanctity of the court premises needs to be maintained. You can have your meetings anywhere, nobody is going to prevent. The courts need to be locked by 6:00 PM everyday. This is unpardonable sir. The staff is working for the lawyers and if they feel threatened and unsafe, where are we to go?" Chief Justice Sivagnanam asked..While expressing anguish, the Chief Justice also recounted that he had met over twenty lawyers, including the President of the Bar Association in his chambers, and had discussed various issues. "I welcomed every member of the Bar in my Chambers. I spoke to them for 20 minutes and this is what they have done," the Chief Justice said. .After the incident, the Chief Justice said that instructions were being given to the staff to lock the courtroom during the lunch break, open it after the break and again lock it at 5 PM, when court shuts for the day."What else can the staff do? They are so much scared to see the scuffle between lawyers, who are affiliated to a political group. Please look into this issue and even inform Advocate General. Otherwise, I will have to refer this matter to a larger bench, which is already looking into such issues," the Chief Justice made it clear.