Lawyers' Protest: Calcutta HC Displeased With Police Failure To Identify Miscreants Who Circulated Defamatory Posters Against Judge

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of the investigation by the Kolkata Police in identifying the miscreants involved in the agitation held outside the courtroom of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on January 9 following which a contempt case was initiated against the errant lawyers.

On the last date of hearing, a bench comprising Justices TS Sivagnanam, IP Mukerji and Chitta Ranjan Dash had directed the Commissioner of Police to enquire as to who was responsible for placing an order for printing of the posters containing defamatory statements against Justice Mantha and had ordered for a status report to be filed in this regard. 

On Wednesday, the Kolkata Police submitted a status report on the progress of the probe and further apprised the Bench that it had sought the help of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to analyze the nature of the paper, the ink used in making the posters so as to identify the possible printing presses involved in the contemptuous act.

The Bench was also informed that the number of printing presses to be examined is more than 250 in number and that the police authorities will also have to cover some area beyond the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Police. Accordingly, a prayer was made to grant an additional time of three weeks to identify the miscreants involved in making the defamatory posters. 

Expressing displeasure at the progress of the probe by the Kolkata Police, the Bench underscored, 

"So far as the report of the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata qua the identification of the printing press where the posters were printed and the persons, who have placed the order for printing of such posters, we are not fully convinced with the stand taken by the Commissioner of Police. Had the investigation been more vigorous, by now the miscreants would have been identified. In any event, we do not wish to foreclose the prayer made by the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata for granting further time to identify the printing press and the persons, who had given the order for printing the posters."

Accordingly, the Kolkata Police was directed to submit a further status report on the next date of the hearing. 

The Court on Wednesday also took on record a Police report in a sealed cover containing photographs and a pen drive carrying CCTV footage of the alleged acts of contempt by the errant lawyers. The pen drive was also played in open court which contained the photographs and video footage of the ruckus created in the court premises on January 9.

Thereafter, the Bench ordered the CCTV recordings to be shared with the Advocate General, the Government Pleader, Bar Council of India, the Bar Council of West Bengal, the Bar Association of High Court at Calcutta, the Bar Library Club and the Incorporated Law Society, High Court at Calcutta so as to identify the miscreants on an urgent basis who will thereafter be made parties to the ongoing contempt proceedings. 

"The CCTV recordings are shared with the aforementioned persons / entities to enable them to identify such of those members of the Bar, who had obstructed the entry of lawyers inside Court Room No.13 on 9th January, 2023 and who had raised slogans, etc. We are confident that the above persons / entities will assist the Court in proper identification of those lawyers, who will thereafter be made parties to the proceedings and would be heard in the matter", the Court added. 

The police report submitted by the Commissioner of Police on Wednesday also divulged that the officers-in-charge of the Police Stations had examined 89 persons and their statements have been recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC. It was also submitted that the concerned police stations i.e. the Lake Police Station and Hare Street Police Station had served notice under Section 91 of the CrPC to 20 persons for the production of CCTV footage and have collected and seized CCTV footage of seven places. 

The Court was also apprised that since the majority of the miscreants as seen in the CCTV footage had covered their faces with masks it has made the job of identification a bit difficult. However, a list containing names of 6 alleged contemnors along with their residential addresses were submitted before Court who were allegedly involved in the agitations against Justice Mantha. Consequently, notice was issued to the alleged contemnors.

"The preliminary report submitted by the Commissioner of Police dated 1st February, 2023 is taken on record and six persons whose names have been mentioned in the preceding paragraphs shall be impleaded as alleged contemnors in this suo motu proceedings", the Court ordered. 

The matter is slated to be heard next on March 15. 

Background 

On January 9, largescale chaos erupted outside the courtroom of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha after a section of lawyers prevented him from continuing with proceedings. Several posters describing Justice Mantha as a "disgrace in the name of the judiciary" were seen pasted inside the premises of the Calcutta High Court and also near the judge’s residence in south Kolkata. Due to the ruckus, proceedings of Justice Mantha’s courtroom had to be temporarily stalled.

It may be noted that Justice Mantha on December 8 last year had passed an order staying over 26 FIRs lodged against BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, and directed the state government to take the permission of the court before lodging any FIR against him in the future. Earlier, Justice Mantha had removed protection granted to Maneka Gambhir, the sister-in-law of TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in a money laundering case.

Pursuant to the initiation of suo motu contempt proceedings by Justice Mantha, Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava had issued an assignment order naming Justices TS Sivagnanam, IP Mukerji and Chitta Ranjan Dash as part of the special bench to hear the proceedings initiated by Justice Mantha having regard to the gravity of the matter.

Case Title: The Court on its own motion

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