Calcutta HC protest: Guv asks govt to protect judiciary – Deccan Herald

 A day after a section of lawyers at Calcutta High Court carried out protests outside the courtroom of a Calcutta High Court judge, West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Tuesday asked the state government to protect the judiciary and uphold its independence, a well-placed source in the Raj Bhavan said.

Following an instruction from the Governor, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi, Home Secretary BP Gopalika and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal reached the Governor’s House and briefed him on the situation.

A group of lawyers held demonstrations outside Justice Rajasekhar Mantha’s courtroom in protest against some of his orders.

“The Governor took stock of the situation in the Calcutta High Court. During the meeting, he told them that everything possible should be done to uphold the dignity and security of the judiciary,” the source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

During the one-hour-long meeting, he also told the three officers that “the judiciary cannot be intimidated”.

He was informed by the officials that the state “believes that no stones should be unturned to protect the judiciary”.

The protests held outside the courtroom of Justice Mantha on Monday were taken note of by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava who has ordered the preservation of photos and videos of the incident.

Posters were also found pasted with similar allegations over some orders on the entrance door and walls of Justice Mantha’s residence at Jodhpur Park area in south Kolkata, as also on the walls of several other houses in the neighbourhood.

On Tuesday, a section of the agitating lawyers said they will not participate in proceedings before the court of Justice Mantha.

The court of Justice Mantha, however, functioned normally on Tuesday with petitions being heard in a usual manner.

Similar protests were seen outside the courtroom of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, another judge of the Calcutta High Court, in April last year.