The high court on Monday ordered Howrah district magistrate Khalil Ahmed to explain why he had failed to attend the hearing on a land acquisition case.

Ahmed was supposed to produce all documents related to the acquisition of 1.39 acres in Sankrail, where the state government has planned to build a bus terminal.

Not just Ahmed, even government lawyers in the case stayed away, prompting Justice Debasish Kargupta to appoint a state counsel on his own.

The court came down on the state for its “negligent attitude” towards cases dealing with “development issues”.

“Neither the district collector (also the district magistrate) nor government lawyers are paying enough attention to a case related to development issues. It’s unfortunate,” the judge said.

Tulsi Das, a state lawyer hired for another case, was present in the courtroom. The judge asked him to look after the land acquisition case as well. “Inform advocate-general Balai Ray about today’s development and tell him that I have engaged you to fight this case on behalf of the state,” the judge told Das.

The state took over the Sankrail plot about a year ago, though the notice was issued a decade back. A compensation package, too, has been announced for the land-owners.

Early this year, the owners had moved the high court, arguing that the state had not followed the Land Acquisition Act while acquiring the 1.39 acres and announcing the compensation package.

The petition was heard on May 15. The judge had deferred the hearing to Thursday, asking the district magistrate to come to court with all relevant papers.