Kolkata, Jan 13,2023: Stalemate continued at the bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Friday with a major section of the lawyers, known to be close to the ruling Trinamool Congress, still boycotting the bench.

The section of the boycotting advocates includes some public prosecutors and state government pleaders thus affecting the progress of cases where the state government is a party.

However, the scene of boycotting lawyers agitating in front of Justice Mantha’s court and restraining their professional colleagues from entering the court, which was rampant on Monday and Tuesday, is no more evident for the last three days.

High court sources said since Friday morning, the counsels concerned for 35 cases remained absent during the time of hearing. As a result, the hearing for those matters had to be postponed to a later date.

State advocate general Soumendra Nath Mookherjee said that he had been participating in the hearing at the court where he is supposed to appear. “There is no bar for me to appear. However, I am unable to comment on why other public prosecutors are not appearing at the hearing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bar Council of India has decided to send a three- member team to Calcutta High Court to investigate the protests by a section of the lawyers in front of Justice Mantha’s court. The three-member investigating team will include Supreme Court advocate Ravindra Kumar Raizda, Allahabad High Court’s Justice Ashok Mehta and Delhi High Court Bar Association executive committee member Vandana Kaur Grover. They will submit a report on January 17.

From January 9, a group of lawyers of the Calcutta High Court, known to be close to Trinamool Congress started boycotting Justice Mantha’s bench, while some of them even blocked their colleagues from entering his court. The matter was finally settled on Wednesday, after Justice Mantha, on Tuesday issued a rule of contempt of court and also filed a suo motu petition in the matter.