Calcutta judges say no to change in name to Kolkata HC

“The ministry has not yet responded to the issue,” a senior high court official said here on Monday. 

“The judges of the High Court at Calcutta in a meeting held on July 11 unanimously declined to accept the proposal of the government of India for changing the name of the High Court of Judicature at Calcutta to High Court of Judicature at Kolkata in view of long history and tradition associated with the existing name of the High Court at Calcutta,” High Court Registrar General Sugato Majumdar said in a communication to the Incorporated Law Society (ILS) here as per direction of the Chief Justice of the High Court. 

In the communication to the ILS president, in reply to his letter to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Justice Manjula Chellur protesting the Centre’s decision, the registrar general said the view of the judges has been communicated to the Ministry of Law and Justice, government of India. 

“The name Calcutta has its own grandeur and tradition, dignity and heritage and it should not be lost in oblivion,” RK Khanna, president of ILS of Calcutta High Court said, adding same would apply to Bombay and Madras. 

“If necessary, we will make an appeal to the President of India to maintain the tradition,” Khanna told PTI. He said that he hoped that as President Pranab Mukherjee hails from West Bengal, he would appreciate the sentiment. 

“We totally support the resolution of the judges in this regard,” Calcutta High Court Bar Association general secretary Suranjan Dasgupta said. West Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak could not be reached over phone despite several attempts for the state government’s views in this regard.