After Sticking Posters Against Justice Rajasekhar Mantha In Court And Blocking Entrance To His Court, Split In Bar Association On Call For Boycotting His Court

The Executive Committee of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association has called for a boycott of the Court of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha after a section of pro-Trinamool Congress lawyers allegedly stuck posters against the judge in the High Court premises and outside the residence of the Judge. 

However, the resolution is disputed by the Vice President and two elected members of the same Association.

A letter addressed today to the Chief Justice of the High Court by the Vice President of the Association Advocate Kallol Mondal and the two members of the Executive Committee, Advocates Amrita Pandey and Mary Dutta, terms the resolution "alleged and purported" and called upon the members to attend the court proceedings in the normal manner. The letter says that the resolution is illegal and against the object of the Association and is contemptuous.     

Yesterday, the same section of lawyers had also obstructed the entrance to the Court of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha.

The Executive Committee yesterday cited maintenance of peace and tranquillity amongst the members to call for boycotting the Court of Justice Mantha.

"Bar Association has received a representation dated 09.01.2023 signed by Achintya Kumar Banerjee and more than one hundred members of the Bar Association. The Bar Association upon deliberation and consideration of the letter and tensed situation inside the court premises, it is hereby unanimously resolved by the members of the Bar in the urgent General Body meeting that the members of the Bar Association shall abstain from judicial proceedings before the court of Hon'ble Justice Rajsekhar Mantha for dispensation of Judicial work and for maintaining peace and tranquillity amongst the members of the Bar", reads the resolution allegedly adopted by the Executive Committee of the Association. 

Though the title of the resolution says that it is a resolution adopted by the Executive Committee, the resolution refers to a decision in an urgent General Body.  The purported resolution was forwarded to the Chief Justice of the High Court.

Today's letter informs the Chief Justice that no notice for any such alleged General Body meeting was given and the resolution is illegal.

The Vice President and the elected members of the Executive Committee have urged the Chief Justice to take action against Advocates and members of the Bar Association who had signed the alleged resolution.

“We would like to request your lordship to issue suo moto rule of contempt against the illegalities and also record our objection to the purported and illegal alleged resolution dated 9th January 2023 as the alleged meeting (if any) was not held in accordance with law, following the procedure as laid down in the Rules of Bar Association and no resolution has been passed as alleged and circulated on whatsapp as the same is per se illegal, arbitrary and contemptuous”, the letter read.

Yesterday, several lawyers had protested against Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and prevented him from continuing with the court proceedings. The lawyers had accused the Judge of protecting BJP's Suvendu Adhikari by granting him 'immunity' from registration of FIR.

Recently, the Calcutta High Court stayed nearly 17 FIRs against him lodged by the state police. The High Court had directed the state police not to register any new FIR against Adhikari without its prior permission.

The Supreme Court, last week, refused to entertain a plea by West Bengal Minister Birbaha Hansda challenging the High Court's order.