Calcutta High Court Pulls Up Lawyer's Juniors For 'Threatening' Dept To Admit Appeal Without Order Copy

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday reprimanded a lawyer and his juniors for filing an appeal against a single judge order without either a server or certified copy of the order under challenge.

A division bench comprising of Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya had on an earlier occasion allowed the filing of the appeal without the certified copy of the order.

On this occasion, when the appeal came up for hearing, the counsel for the appellant Billwadal Bhattacharya sought leave to produce the server copy of the impugned order.

Taking exception to this submission, Justice Bhattacharya pointed out that leave had been granted to file the appeal without a certified copy of the order, and not without the server copy either.

He questioned how the appeal could have been filed without any copies of the impugned order.

Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam also remarked that it appeared that the counsel's juniors had "threatened the department" to admit their appeal with an undertaking that a server copy would be produced at the time of hearing.

They have threatened the department to accept their undertaking that the order will be produced at the time of hearing. That was not our order. This is very wrong sir. The department functions for the lawyers, they are a limb of the HC. If you threaten them what will they do?, the Chief Justice orally remarked.

Declining to hear the appeal today, the bench listed the matter next week after the server copy of the order had been filed in the department.

Case: SRABANTI SINHA ROY AND ANR. VS STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS.

Case No: MAT/2071/2024