The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday appointed two senior counsels as amicus curiae to look into the matter of criminal contempt against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly making “derogatory remarks against the Judiciary”.
Hearing the matter, which was brought to the notice of the Court by senior counsel Bikash Bhattacharya, the Division Bench of Justice A. K. Sengupta and A .K. Mondal directed that the affidavits filed in this matter along with the newspaper reports and CDs containing the speech would be made available to the two senior counsels.
The Court said that the two senior counsels Hirak Mitra and Ranjan De can also engage juniors to assist them. Bhattacharya argued before the Court that there was enough evidence to initiate criminal contempt against Banerjee. Recalling past instances, he said Courts have issued contempt notices against Chief Ministers for making remarks against Judiciary on the basis of media reports.
ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in