Howrah Lawyers- Police Face Off : Ensure That There Is No Intrusion To Court Premises, Calcutta HC Tells Police

"The police officials and the State Government are directed to ensure that law and order is maintained and there is no intrusion into the premises of the Howrah Court without request or direction by the judicial officer in control", ordered the Court. 

On Monday, the Court had take  suo moto cognizance of the police assault on lawyers in Howrah after a row with Howrah civic staff over parking disputes escalated. 

In the order passed on Monday, the Court had observed  "The Court premises are locations which are to be insulated from all sorts of intrusions, except as authorised by law" and that "the society cannot afford to exclude the existence of courts within the reasonable reach of the citizens, including geographically".

The bench today took into account the fact that Howrah was going to polls on May 6 and ordered that law and order should be maintained "subject to all directions to be issued by the Election Commission in view of the ensuing elections".

The bench had ordered the suo moto proceedings to be registered as a writ petition having "regard to the different aspects and issues which may be relevant for consideration in larger public interest and for protecting the premises of Courts and to ensure that due process in terms of the Constitution and the laws are obeyed and enforced in relation to the incident at Howrah"

 The Howrah Bar Association had intervened in the suo moto proceedings.

The State Bar Association had struck work till Monday in wake of the April 24 incident where lawyers and the Howrah civic staff fought a pitched battle for hours after an elderly lawyer was turned away by the guard of the civic headquarters on Mahatma Gandhi Road as he tried to park his vehicle in the civic agency's compound.

After a quarrel, many lawyers joined him and protested against the guard insulting the elderly lawyer. The matter escalated. The lawyers claim they were attacked by the civic agency staff. The staff, on the other hand, claims they were attacked first.

The police intervened and chased away lawyers while thrashing many resulting in severe injuries.