Kolkata, Feb 10 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court Tuesday took cognisance of the alleged heckling of a judge by lawyers owing allegiance to the Trinamool Congress during the hearing of a matter related to the Saradha scam.
Following a plea by advocate and CPI-M leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur took cognisance of Monday's incident wherein Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Alipore) Haradhan Mukherjee was almost gheraoed and court proceedings were disrupted by lawyers defending scam accused state transport minister Madan Mitra, now behind bars.
"The way the judge was heckled is tantamount to contempt of court so I moved the bench of chief justice with a plea that the court should take suo motu cognisance and initiate action against the guilty lawyers.
"The chief justice admitted my plea and said the court has initiated the process of taking cognisance and initiating action in the matter," said Bhattacharya.
There were noisy scenes and chaos Monday, as the defence lawyers resorted to sloganeering, after Haradhan Mukherjee agreed to pass an order to rectify an earlier order in which the court had "erroneously" omitted to take cognisance under Section 409 of IPC, that deals with criminal breach of trust by public servant.
The lawyers had accused the judge of being biased and intentionally curtailing the rights of their client Madan Mitra.
While the pandemonium had disrupted proceedings for a few hours, the judge refused to budge and working way beyond the normal court hours, passed the order allowing the CBI's plea to incorporate the section that carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The CBI, which is probing the scam, made the plea after former Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose got bail Feb 4 after remaining behind bars for 75 days.
The agency contended that if the section is not included in the cognisance order, then Mitra who is under custody till date might also be granted bail in a way similar to that of Bose.
Mitra has already applied for bail to a higher court which is expected to hear the matter Wednesday when the statutory period of 60 days for the prosecution to file the chargesheet, gets over.
With Section 409 now applicable, the CBI has 30 more days to file the chargesheet.
Meanwhile, the opposition has slammed the Trinamool for the alleged heckling.
"Under the Trinamool, nobody is safe. From the Election Commission to now a judge, all are falling victim to Trinamool's high-handedness. If things continue like this, I am afraid that the day is not far away when a judge may be assaulted for doing his duty," state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
Leader of opposition and CPI-M member Surjya Kanta Mishra too questioned the ruling party's stand.
"The Chief Minister and the state government are bound by the court to assist the CBI in its probe. But the way she has been openly attacking the CBI, this incident is only a reflection of that," said Mishra.
The encounter with Anil Dujana proved the Yogi government's strict policy against mafias once aga
Surya Grahan 2023: Will Hybrid Solar Eclipse be visible in Bihar or not, how will it be affected?
What is Hybrid Surya Grahan: The first solar eclipse of the year 2023 took place on the day of Va
You will also get internet service very soon on the SpiceJet flight. According to SpiceJet's CMD,
Kochi Biennale accords Indian artists global context: Experts
Kochi, Feb 17 (IANS) The ongoing Kochi-Muziris Biennale '14 (KMB) has succeeded in according In
Sushmita Sen and Rohman Shawl were in a relationship for many years. Even though Rohman was young
Corona is once again wreaking havoc in the country. For the past several days, the cases of coron
Two cases of HMPV found in India, can it also be as dangerous as COVID-19?
Once again China has become a matter of concern all over the world. For the past few days, a new
A case of a lapse in the security of US President Joe Biden has come to the fore. A small private
What is Sharia law and what does it mean for Afghan women under 'Taliban rule'?
The Taliban have said they will rule Afghanistan according to a strict interpretation of Islam's
England started the tour of Pakistan on a winning note, thanks to the precise bowling of left-arm
