Kunal Ghosh fined Rs 2,000 by Calcutta High Court over gherao of lawyers’ chambers

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh along with some teacher job aspirants were fined Rs 2,000 each by the Calcutta High Court for being involved in the alleged gherao and harassment of senior advocates Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Firdous Shamim and Bikram Banerjee inside the court premises.

The order was passed on Monday by a special three-judge Bench comprising Justices Arijit Banerjee, Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Rajarshi Bharadwaj, which was constituted to hear the matter after the court took suo motu cognisance of the incident.

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The controversy stemmed from an ongoing case relating to the appointment of candidates in Physical Education and Work Education through the creation of supernumerary posts. Advocate Firdous Shamim had challenged the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process before the High Court.

During the hearing of the case, senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya strongly opposed the stand taken by a section of the job aspirants.

While hearing the matter, Justice Biswajit Basu observed that although questions had been raised over the progress of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe as directed by the Supreme Court, the state government would have to submit in writing under whose instructions the additional posts had been created.

Following the observation, a section of Upper Primary teacher job aspirants staged a protest outside Bhattacharya’s chamber at the High Court. They questioned why the recruitment cases were not progressing despite the Supreme Court’s directions and also alleged that the senior advocate had an understanding with Justice Biswajit Basu.

Viewing the alleged gherao and harassment of advocates within the High Court premises as a serious attack on the dignity of the institution and the safety of lawyers, the High Court initiated suo motu proceedings. A special three-judge Bench was subsequently constituted to examine the incident. The episode also triggered strong protests from a large section of the High Court Bar.

Led by Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Firdous Shamim, lawyers organised a protest march within the court premises, condemning the alleged intimidation and harassment of members of the legal fraternity.