Calcutta High Court issues notice to TMC leader Kunal Ghosh in contempt case

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh has been served with a show cause notice by the Calcutta High Court in connection with a contempt of court case.

The notice has been issued in a harassment case of advocates and for making derogatory comments against a judge of the same court during a protest against senior advocate and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya in front of the latter’s chamber near the Calcutta High Court premises in April this year.

The contempt rule against Ghosh and six others was issued by a special three-judge bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee, Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, which was constituted specially to hear this particular case, for failing to file affidavits to the court in the matter within the stipulated period.

In the notice issued by the Calcutta High Court and served through Narkeldanga Police Station, Ghosh had been asked to be physically present in front of the three-judge special division bench at noon on June 16 and explain why punitive action, including imprisonment, would not be initiated against him for contempt of court.

Legal brains pointed out that in such cases, if the first explanation from the individual concerned does not satisfy the court, then the latter might issue another notice to him seeking a fresh explanation.

However, legal brains added that in case of no reply from the individual or in case of his or her absence from being physically present at the court, the court might order his imprisonment.

Recently, the Calcutta High Court ordered a four-day imprisonment for an advocate for making slanderous comments against a judge.

In April this year, a group of candidates for teaching posts in the upper-primary section protested in front of the chamber of Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya.

Their grudge against Bhattacharya was that his legal arguments often led to the cancellation of school jobs in West Bengal. During those protests, the protesters also used derogatory comments against Justice Biswajit Basu because of some negative observations by the latter in certain cases on the alleged school job scam.

Calcutta High Court’s Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam took cognisance of the matter and directed Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma to investigate the matter and identify the protesters. Calcutta High Court also registered a suo motu contempt-of-court case in the matter.

IANS