The Darjeeling Bar Association said on Wednesday that judicial magistrate Alakananda Sarkar had tendered a written apology for her remarks on the Nepali language.

Dinesh Chandra Rai, the general secretary of the association, read out the apology letter issued by the judicial magistrate on Wednesday.

“I, Alakananda Sarkar, a member of WBJS, presently posted as Judicial Magistrate at Mungpoo wish to extend my sincere and unconditional apology for the incident that happened on my part to the member of Bar Association, Darjeeling,” the letter signed by Sarkar and released by the association read.

The magistrate said she understood that her action might have hurt the sentiments of not only the association but also the Nepali-speaking community at large.

“I take full responsible (sic) for the same which had occurred,” said Sarkar.

“However, I had no intention to hurt the sentiment of Nepali Speaking people, if any person or the community got hurt, I am tendering my unconditional apology. The word was casually uttered by me out of my frustration and ill health,” the letter said.

The apology was tendered after a meeting which was attended by members of the
bar association, district judge, additional district and session judge (2nd court), chief judicial magistrate, Darjeeling, and the judicial magistrate, Mungpo.

On Tuesday, Bengal law minister Moloy Ghatak had written to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court on the issue after Anit Thapa, the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, had met him.

In his letter, Ghatak stated that on August 18, the Darjeeling Bar Association had received a representation from the Mungpoo Bar Association.

“…wherein it has been alleged that Smt Alokananda Sarkar, judicial magistrate 1st Class in Mungpoo Court has stated in open Court that She would not allow the use Nepali Language in the Court as well as in the normal communication between the employees of the Court and the legal fraternity as Nepali is a language of Nepal and not of India(sic),” Ghatak said in the letter.

The magistrate said on Wednesday that she had “full knowledge that the Nepali language was recognised by the Constitution and included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution……”

Sarkar’s remarks were widely condemned in the hills and by various bar associations.