The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday reprimanded a lawyer and his associates for filing an appeal against a single judge’s order without a server or a certified copy of the impugned order.

A division bench comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya had already allowed filing of the appeal without the certified copy of the order.

On that occasion, when the appeal was heard, learned counsel for the appellant Billwadal Bhattacharya sought permission to produce the server copy of the impugned order.

Objecting to this contention, Justice Bhattacharya pointed out that permission was granted to file the appeal without a certified copy of the order, and not without the server’s copy either.

He wonders how the appeal could have been filed without any copy of the impugned order.

Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam also remarked that it appeared the junior lawyers had “threatened the department” into admitting their appeal by undertaking that a server copy would be produced at the time of hearing.

They threatened the ministry to accept its commitment that the order would be produced at the time of the hearing. It was not our order. This is very false, sir. The department works for lawyers, they are a branch of the HC. If you threaten them, what will they do? » remarked orally the chief justice.

Refusing to hear the appeal today, the bench listed the matter next week after the server copy of the order was filed with the ministry.

Case: SRABANTI SINHA ROY AND ANR. VS STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS.

Case no: MAT/2071/2024