During a late-night hearing, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court overturned an order issued by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a single judge, which had ordered the arrest of an attorney from within the court on grounds of contempt of court.
The hearing was convened at 8:30 p.m. by a panel of Justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharya following a letter of relief requested by arrested counsel Prosenjit Mukherjee. After that, the division bench moved to revoke Justice Gangopadhyay’s order, noting that, since the appellant is a member of the bar and the legal profession, we believe this is a suitable case to provide the appellant with temporary protection. Thus, pending further directive from this Court, we shall halt the implementation of the ruling dated December 18, 2023, which mandates a three-day civil incarceration time for the appellant.”
Mukherjee’s letter to the court stated that even though he offered an unqualified apology to the sole judge, he was nonetheless detained by the Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff. After being freed, he informed the division bench that he fears he could be arrested again if the order is carried out.
“It is fairly and candidly submitted by the appellant that he was later on released from the custody taken by the Sheriff but still apprehends that the order may, if implemented, put him again in custody, and considering the extreme urgency and the unprecedented events that happened in the Court, the Bench was constituted for taking up the instant matter and to pass an appropriate order as may be deemed fit and proper,” the Court stated.
As a result, the Court moved to put the one-judge order on hold. Prior to this, the Calcutta High Court Bar Association had unanimously decided to ask Justice Gangopadhyay to step down from all judicial duties. The Bar Association announced that it had unanimously passed a resolution in this regard “after the extreme insult meted out to advocate Prosenjit Mukherjee” in a letter to Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam. The group further decided that unless a member “apologises,” he cannot enter Justice Gangopadhyay’s court.
