A lawyer trying to prove that the national emblem illegally sits on many government symbols minus the legend Satyameva Jayate sealed his argument on Friday by pointing where nobody had looked before: the chief justice’s chair.

As truth dawned, acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya turned to look atop his chair’s backrest where the emblem with the Sanskrit words should have been (in red circle far left). He then summoned the registrar-general of the court.

“Why is Satyameva Jayate missing? Please have this chair replaced,” the acting Chief Justice said before walking out.

The other judge of the division bench, Justice Prasenjit Mondal, followed.

By the time the duo returned after the recess ended at 2pm, the court staff had arranged for a chair for the acting Chief Justice with neither the emblem nor the legend, meaning “truth alone triumphs”.

“There are two fixed chairs for the use of the Chief Justice of the high court. Both have the lions mounted on the abacus with the Ashok Chakra in the middle but there is no Satyameva Jayate below the emblem. So we could not replace the chair,” a senior court official told Metro later.

Acting Chief Justice Bhattacharya conducted the rest of the hearing seated on a chair meant for a judge.

Lawyer Tapas Bhanja, who had pointed out the anomaly, said he was only trying to prove a point. “I knew that the legend was missing, and today was just the occasion to point it out,” he said.

The petition seeking a court order restraining government officials and agencies from using the national emblem without Satyameva Jayate written underneath was filed by Kamal De.

Lawyers representing the petitioner argued that it was not only illegal to use an “incomplete” emblem but also an insult to everything it stands for.

But in the end, the day belonged to that one observation that rocked — and removed — even the Chief Justice’s chair.