A bail matter involving former TMC minister Sujit Bose has taken an unusual turn at the Calcutta High Court. Justice Suvra Ghosh recently recused herself from the case after allegations surfaced that an advocate for Bose had approached her private secretary to access case records kept in her chambers. The advocate concerned, Mousumi Bhowal, has now placed her own account of events on record through a sworn affidavit, denying any wrongdoing.
Background Of The Case
Bhowal was engaged as the Advocate-on-Record for Bose in CRM(R) No. 58 of 2026. After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Ghosh had reserved the matter for judgment on August 17, 2026. Bhowal states she was later contacted by the court officer regarding judgments that had been cited during the hearing, which is what set off the sequence of events at the centre of the controversy.
According to the affidavit, on August 18, 2026, Bhowal received a call and a WhatsApp message from Advocate Nahid Ahmed, junior to Senior Advocate Sabyasachi Banerjee, who was also representing Bose. Ahmed reportedly told her that Shikha Mukherjee, the court officer in Court Room No. 15 and personal secretary to Justice Ghosh, wanted judgment copies.
Bhowal says she went to the courtroom around 2.35 PM, after which the court officer asked her to come to the Sesquicentenary Building to help identify the required judgments. She was then taken to the corridor outside Justice Ghosh's chamber, where a staff member was asked to show the case file. The staff member reportedly said the file was with the judge and could not be produced. Bhowal insists she left immediately without saying a word to anyone there.
She has firmly denied entering the judge's chamber or acting alongside the court officer for any improper purpose.
"I have never tried to enter the chamber of Her Ladyship," she stated in the affidavit.
Bhowal added that she went on to hand over two judgments to the court officer around 3.10 PM, both earlier orders passed by Justice Ghosh in unrelated matters.
Bhowal has asked the High Court to order an enquiry into the episode so she can clear her name, and has requested that CCTV footage from outside the judge's chamber be preserved as evidence.
The affidavit remains on record before the Court.
