KOLKATA: Calcutta high court, while staying the three-day “civil arrest” of a lawyer by the single-judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, commented on late Monday evening that restraint and humility were necessary for a judge to command respect.
During a hearing earlier in the day, Justice Gangopadhyay had held lawyer Prosenjit Mukherjee guilty of criminal contempt and had send him to “civil imprisonment” in HC sheriff’s custody for three days.Mukherjee filed an appeal against the single-bench order in a letter to chief justice T S Sivagnanam. Subsequently, a special bench of justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya was convened late on Monday. Though Mukherjee was released, he filed an “urgent appeal”, apprehensive that he might be taken into custody again.
The division bench cited several Supreme Court judgments, saying it was legally “well settled” that “the maintenance of purity of administration of justice, so as to uphold the independence of the judiciary, is a sole task of the courts”. The bench added that restraint and humility was necessary for judges to command respect, as well as to protect the judiciary’s independence. “We are not unmindful of the fact that one of the foremost duties cast upon the lawyer is to uphold and protect the interest of his client fearlessly by all fair and honourable manner,” the HC said, adding, “Administration of justice is a stream, which has to be kept pure and clean. It has to be kept unpolluted. Administration of justice is not something, which concerns the bench only. It concerns the bar as well.”
After Justice Gangopadhyay’s order on Monday, Calcutta high court bar association had decided to boycott his court from Tuesday. Association secretary Biswabrata Basu Mallick wrote to chief justice Sivagnanam after a general body meeting, urging him to take away all cases from Justice Gangopadhyay.
The association’s “unanimous” decision to stay away from Justice Gangopadhyay’s court will continue, association president Arunava Ghosh said on Tuesday.
During a hearing earlier in the day, Justice Gangopadhyay had held lawyer Prosenjit Mukherjee guilty of criminal contempt and had send him to “civil imprisonment” in HC sheriff’s custody for three days.Mukherjee filed an appeal against the single-bench order in a letter to chief justice T S Sivagnanam. Subsequently, a special bench of justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya was convened late on Monday. Though Mukherjee was released, he filed an “urgent appeal”, apprehensive that he might be taken into custody again.
The division bench cited several Supreme Court judgments, saying it was legally “well settled” that “the maintenance of purity of administration of justice, so as to uphold the independence of the judiciary, is a sole task of the courts”. The bench added that restraint and humility was necessary for judges to command respect, as well as to protect the judiciary’s independence. “We are not unmindful of the fact that one of the foremost duties cast upon the lawyer is to uphold and protect the interest of his client fearlessly by all fair and honourable manner,” the HC said, adding, “Administration of justice is a stream, which has to be kept pure and clean. It has to be kept unpolluted. Administration of justice is not something, which concerns the bench only. It concerns the bar as well.”
After Justice Gangopadhyay’s order on Monday, Calcutta high court bar association had decided to boycott his court from Tuesday. Association secretary Biswabrata Basu Mallick wrote to chief justice Sivagnanam after a general body meeting, urging him to take away all cases from Justice Gangopadhyay.
The association’s “unanimous” decision to stay away from Justice Gangopadhyay’s court will continue, association president Arunava Ghosh said on Tuesday.