Lawyers argue over Aroop treatment on court campus
Times of India | 20 June 2026
Kolkata: A day after former state sports minister Aroop Biswas was forced to remain confined inside his lawyer’s chamber at Alipore court for nearly three hours amid chants of “thief, thief” and threats of an egg attack, the dramatic scenes continued to reverberate through the legal fraternity, triggering a debate over whether lawyers had crossed a line in taking protest to the court premises.
Biswas’ lawyer Gopal Halder criticised the conduct of the protesters, describing it as unbecoming of members of the legal profession. “We, as professionals, represent different sections of society. We cannot refuse to represent someone even if he is an alleged criminal. What happened on the court premises was completely unprofessional,” Halder said.
The senior advocate said he and his team appeared in court over the past two days on behalf of several Trinamool functionaries, including Swarup Biswas, Jahangir Khan and Dilip Mondal, and had never before witnessed such hostility directed at a client.
“In my career, I have represented political personalities across different regimes, but I have never seen anything like this. A section of lawyers, in an attempt to demonstrate allegiance to a political party, is engaging in such conduct. This should stop,” he added.
While normalcy returned to the Alipore Sessions and Judges Court on Friday, sharp divisions emerged among advocates over Thursday’s unprecedented confrontation, during which a group of lawyers surrounded the chamber, banged on doors, shattered a windowpane and waited outside armed with eggs.
The incident unfolded hours after Biswas finally appeared before Bidhannagar Police in connection with the Messi event row after skipping three summonses. Though his appearance before investigators passed off peacefully, trouble began after he reached Halder’s chamber at Alipore court.
As word of his presence spread across the court complex, lawyers began gathering outside the chamber. What started as verbal protests quickly escalated, with demonstrators demanding that Biswas be removed from the premises, accusing him of wrongdoing.
A scuffle reportedly broke out between protesting lawyers and another group of advocates who opposed the agitation and attempted to calm the situation. The standoff lasted for nearly three hours before police intervened. Eventually, police escorted Biswas out of the court premises around 6.15 pm amid a barrage of eggs hurled in his direction.
A black screen has been installed on the broken windowpane of Halder’s chamber, while police personnel were seen making frequent rounds in the area.
Some lawyers who participated in the protest claimed they themselves attended the Dec 13 event at Salt Lake stadium but were unable to properly watch their football hero as politicians and VIPs like Biswas occupied areas that obstructed spectators’ views. “It was not planned. It was an emotional outburst,” said a senior lawyer who took part in the agitation.
“We know we should have behaved differently, but people are angry with the Biswas brothers because of irregularities they have committed. Sometimes it becomes difficult to control emotions,” another lawyer said.