High court reprimands counsels for 'street fighting' in court

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Arun Mishra Wednesday strongly censured warring counsels for bringing a "street fight" to the court room.

During the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a CBI probe into the Saradha Group chit fund scam, the division bench of Chief Justice Mishra and Justice J.M. Bagchi strongly condemned the behaviour of the respective counsels after they exchanged heated words.

"Political atmosphere is being brought to court, there is so much hostility. We do not expect the counsels to fight like this. This happens only here and nowhere else," Justice Mishra told the counsels.

"There should be awareness about what to speak in court and what not to. A court is not a place to show emotions. This is not a street, it is a court," added Justice Mishra.

Subrata Mukhopadhyay, who filed the PIL urging the court to expedite the hearing and give a suitable judgment in the chit fund scam, accused the respondents - including the state government's counsel - of delaying the litigation. The verbal duel snowballed into a war of words.

The case will come up for hearing May 14.