The Calcutta High Court has sought a report from the judicial memory of the West Bengal government on whether the government lawyer can be allowed to appear for accused in criminal cases registered by the state.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh hearing a case on behalf of BJP leader Arjun Singh, recalled that even earlier when the present Solicitor General had appeared for recruitment scam accused Partha Chatterjee, he had asked the lawyer to take permission from the legal memory.

“This I will not allow…there must be a discipline. There must be some connection with the state or the centre, whoever. LR will submit a report on whether state detainers are allowed to appear on behalf of the accused in a registered criminal case by the state. If special permission is granted, reasons must be assigned to criminal cases that have far-reaching consequences for the transfer of the investigation.

“Once the retainership has been accepted by the lawyer, no private signatures can be accepted. This is a known principle. The appointing authority of the retainer lawyer must submit a report on the principles followed by the State of West Bengal.” added the court.

The court also noted orally that, “Nothing will be left after this, the state of West Bengal will be a victim.”

Accordingly, when the court requested the report, the court listed the matter for hearing at a later date.

Case: ARJUN SINGH VS STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS.

Case number: WPA/25674/2024