May 14, 2026
Mamata Banerjee dons lawyer’s gown to argue on behalf of the people of Bengal in case of post-poll violence at Calcutta High Court
All India Trinamool Congress Chairperson and former chief minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee today appeared as a lawyer at the Calcutta High Court to argue in a case of post-poll violence, filed by Sirshanya Banerjee, the son of AITC MP-cum-advocate Kalyan Banerjee, and himself an advocate.
The case alleges large-scale attacks on political workers and party offices of Trinamool Congress following its loss to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the just-concluded assembly election.
This was the first appearance of Mamata Banerjee, a qualified lawyer, at the Calcutta High Court. She wore the traditional black lawyer’s gown.
Earlier, on February 4, she had appeared as a lawyer in the Supreme Court to argue against the Election Commission’s mass deletion of voters’ names from Bengal in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
A division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen is hearing the public interest litigation (PIL).
Mamata Banerjee referred to visual evidence and said that even children, women and minorities were not spared in the violence by BJP workers. She raised concerns over threats and said that, in some cases, even 12-year-old girls were not spared.
She submitted a list of ten people she said were murdered and indicated that of the ten, six were Hindus. Banerjee also alleged that the police were not allowing the registration of FIRs.
The party chairperson also alleged widespread ransacking of shops and houses of people across communities, and questioned the role of the police, asking whether they were sleeping.
“Please protect the people of Bengal. This is not a bulldozer state,” she appealed to the bench.
Earlier today, AITC, via its official handle on X, said that the party chairperson’s personal appearance in court once again showed that she truly stands apart.
“She NEVER abandons the people of Bengal in their hour of need.
She NEVER stops fighting for truth, justice, and constitutional values.
And time and again, she rises above the politics of hatred with unmatched COMPASSION, COURAGE and CONVICTION.
“Whether confronting the injustice of SIR or standing firm against the unruly conduct of @BJP4India, she continues to prove that there is truly NO LEADER LIKE HER in the country today.”
The post was accompanied by video showing Mamata Banerjee entering Calcutta High Court to argue a case for the first time in her career.
Calcutta High Court’s decision:
The division bench, in its interim order on the writ petition, instructed the BJP government to “strictly maintain law and order at the ground level.” It instructed the police to guarantee the safety of those who had fled their homes fearing post-poll retaliatory violence, and to facilitate their secure return to their properties regardless of political affiliation. The court also directed the state to file its affidavit-in-opposition within three weeks and granted an additional two weeks for a reply, while keeping open the question of the maintainability of the TMC’s PIL.
