A high-voltage courtroom clash erupted in the Calcutta High Court between Trinamool Congress MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee and West Bengal Advocate General Surajit Nath Mitra during a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) hearing regarding the removal of loudspeakers from mosques. The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee was hearing a petition filed by Danish Farooqui, who alleged that police in Serampore, Rishra, Chapdani, and Bhadreshwar were verbally ordering the removal of nearly 4,000 mosque loudspeakers despite past court rulings permitting microphoned calls to prayer within prescribed volume limits.
During the heated arguments, the proceedings degenerated into personal attacks as derogatory slurs, including 'Chotichata' (slipper-licker) and 'Butchata' (boot-licker), were traded in open court. Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the Advocate General initiated the personal provocation by calling him a 'Chotichata', to which Banerjee retaliated by labeling the AG a 'boot-licker of Suvendu Adhikari'. Outside the courtroom, Banerjee criticized the state government's legal team, claiming they were resorting to irrelevant personal attacks due to political pressure and a lack of constitutional understanding.
The intense confrontation forced the Acting Chief Justice to step in to restore decorum and calm both parties. The High Court subsequently directed the state government to verify the allegations and submit a report clarifying whether police authorities had issued verbal directions for loudspeaker removals. The division bench scheduled the next hearing for Tuesday, when the state's official report on police action will be reviewed.