AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The incident drew criticism from members of the legal fraternity, who said religious or political slogans have no place inside a courtroom.
The incident took place in Court No. 4, where 24 accused persons had been directed to appear in connection with a case registered in 2018, according to media reports.
The case stems from a protest linked to an interfaith marriage in 2018. At the time, a group of people had allegedly raised allegations of “love jihad” and marched from Baghajatin Park to the office of the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Magistrate on Hill Cart Road to submit a memorandum. Police subsequently registered a case against 24 individuals.
Some of the accused had earlier secured bail, while warrants had been issued against others, requiring them to appear before the court. All 24 accused were present in connection with the proceedings.
According to reports, the accused were standing inside the courtroom while their names were being called for attendance. During the process, one of the accused allegedly looked towards the magistrate and shouted “Jai Shri Ram”, triggering commotion inside the courtroom.
The report stated that the judicial officer was wearing a hijab at the time of the incident.
Advocate Trideep Saha, appearing for the accused, immediately offered an unconditional apology before the court and maintained that the slogan was not directed at the magistrate.
Saha described the episode as inadvertent and said expressions such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Radhe-Radhe” are sometimes used by people as greetings. He said the accused uttered the words while names were being called and that the legal team apologised as soon as it realised the statement could be interpreted differently within the courtroom.
“It was not said for the judge. Many people use ‘Jai Shri Ram’ or ‘Radhe-Radhe’ as greetings. During the calling of names, one of the accused said those words without thinking. Even so, we immediately apologised for the incident,” Saha was quoted as saying.
The incident was criticised by members of the legal community.
Siliguri Bar Association president Uday Shankar Malakar described the episode as “completely inappropriate” and said such conduct was unacceptable in a courtroom.
“This is a completely inappropriate incident. Such occurrences inside a courtroom are not acceptable at all. If the court wished, it could have initiated suo motu proceedings,” Malakar said.
Divakar Roy, Darjeeling district secretary of the All India Lawyers Association, also stressed the need to preserve the dignity and neutrality of judicial proceedings.
He said a courtroom is a space for impartial justice and should remain free from religious and political disputes. According to Roy, religious or political slogans should not be raised inside court premises under any circumstances.
The court has not publicly announced any action in connection with the incident.
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