Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday sought a report from the West Bengal government on the action taken by the police administration over the attacks on advocates in different parts of the state during the last few months.
Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge directed the state government to submit the report to the court by Friday.
On Thursday, a section of the advocates of the Calcutta High Court, led by senior advocate and four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee sought the attention of the bench of the Chief Justice regarding the attack at the residence of senior advocate and former CPI-M Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya at Purbalok near Jadavpur in South Kolkata early Thursday morning.
Seeking the court’s intervention in the matter, Kalyan Banerjee submitted in the court that the advocates who are against the current ruling dispensation and the Bharatiya Janata Party government were going through a critical phase because of constant threats of attacks on them.
Chief Justice Ghuge said that the court had already asked the police to enhance and strengthen security arrangements within the high court premises.
However, at the same time, he also requested the advocates to have faith in the court instead of going for cease-work.
The state’s additional advocate general, Rajdeep Majumdar, assured the court that the police administration would take action in such matters.
He also recalled how Calcutta High Court’s Justice Rajasekhar Mantha was harassed and slanderous postering was done on the wall of his residence in South Kolkata during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in the state.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee, too, had issued a social media statement expressing solidarity towards Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya regarding the attack on his residence early Thursday morning.
“After Baruipur Court, Bankshall Court, Chandannagar and Salboni, another brutal attack today. This time at the residence of Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya in Kolkata. Evidence on video confirms the brazenness such attackers have towards law enforcement in West Bengal. I strongly condemn such continuing attacks on the legal fraternity. It is true that in the past 15 years Bikash da and us have often been on different sides of the ideological and legal divide. However, the line of decency was never crossed,” the former Chief Minister said in a social media statement.
(IANS)
