Advocate Panchanand Shaw — Decisive Counsel at the Calcutta High Court

Your First Consultation

A first consultation is a working meeting of twenty to thirty minutes, at the chamber at 14 Hare Street or by phone where distance or urgency makes that more sensible. You describe what happened; the papers you carry are read against that account; and you leave with an answer to three questions: which forum has jurisdiction, what can be filed and by when, and what it will cost. Nothing is filed at that sitting and no fee is committed.

Come with whatever exists in writing, even if incomplete. The FIR copy or complaint, the notice received or sent, agreements and deeds, court papers with the next date, and a one-page chronology are enough to make the sitting useful. If you have nothing in writing yet, come anyway; the first step in many matters is to create the record correctly, and that can only be done if the facts are taken carefully at the start.

You will be told plainly where the case is weak. An advocate who forecasts a win at the first meeting is guessing; the value of the sitting lies in an honest reading of the documents, the procedural position and the risks. Where the matter needs a specialist or belongs in a forum this chamber does not regularly appear in, you will be told that and referred on.

Matters Taken on an Urgent, Same-Day Basis

Some instructions cannot wait for the next convenient appointment. The chamber keeps time each working day for urgent work, and its position opposite Bankshall Court and near the Calcutta High Court means an application can often be moved the same day the papers arrive, provided the instructions come early enough and the court's board allows it.

• Arrest and remand. A family member taken into custody and produced before a magistrate needs an appearance at the remand stage, when custody is first considered.
• Anticipatory bail. Where arrest is apprehended on an FIR already registered, an application under section 482 BNSS can be prepared for the Sessions Court or the High Court.
• Warrant recall. A warrant issued for non-appearance can lead to detention at any point, so an application to recall it and restore the matter is treated as urgent.
• Notice of appearance. A notice under section 35 BNSS must be answered within the time stated, with an application for exemption or for recording the client's version where appropriate.
• Frozen accounts and cheque-bounce deadlines. A frozen bank account, or a complaint that must be filed within the statutory period after a cheque return memo, is time-critical.
• Interim relief in listed matters. Stay applications, urgent mentions and objections to ex parte orders where waiting for the next date would cause irreparable loss.

Two limits are worth knowing. A same-day listing depends on the court's board and on when the instructions reach the chamber; if the court has risen, or the roster does not sit that day, the application goes on the next working day. And urgency does not change the facts. An application prepared in an hour is still prepared on the record, and a document withheld to save time will damage the case at the hearing.

How We Work

• Step 1: Understand the record. The facts are taken in sequence and read against the documents. Forum, limitation and immediate risk are identified before any drafting begins.
• Step 2: Agree the course in writing. The remedy, the forum, the steps, the probable timeline and the fee basis go into an engagement note. Work starts after that note is signed, so there is no later disagreement about scope.
• Step 3: File, appear and report. Pleadings are drafted and reviewed twice against the record, filed, and argued on each date. After every hearing you are told what was argued, what was ordered and what comes next, ordinarily the same day.

The file stays with the advocate throughout. There is no handover to an assistant at the hearing stage, and no point at which you have to explain the matter again to a new person. Fees are agreed in advance, expenses are billed at actuals, and every listing date is diarised rather than left to a message thread.

Questions People Ask Before Instructing

What does a first consultation cost?

The position is explained when the appointment is fixed, before you travel. Where a fee applies, the amount is stated in advance and is separate from any later engagement. Nothing is charged for a referral to another advocate or forum.

Can I consult by phone instead of coming to the chamber?

Yes, and for an arrest or a notice that has just arrived it is often the right choice. Where the matter turns on documents, such as a partition deed or a long order sheet, a sitting at the chamber is better because the papers can be read together. Clients outside Kolkata sometimes send scanned copies first and then decide whether a trip is necessary.

What if the police call or an arrest happens at night?

Urgent calls about an arrest, a police raid or a warrant are attended to outside ordinary hours, because those events do not keep office timings. Routine enquiries received at night are answered on the next working morning. Ordinary hours are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 7 PM, and Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM.

Will you tell me whether my case is strong?

You will be told what the legal position is, what the record supports and where the risks lie. No advocate can predict an outcome. If the case is weak on the documents, you will hear that before you spend money on it, and if a cheaper statutory remedy exists you will be told about that too.

Do you take matters outside Kolkata?

Yes, within West Bengal and, through instructing or senior counsel, before forums in other states and the Supreme Court. In those matters the file remains with this chamber so instructions and updates pass through one point of contact. The arrangement and its cost are explained before the brief is accepted.