Contact Advocate Panchanand Shaw

Finding the Chamber

The office is at 14 Hare Street, Kolkata 700001, on the stretch between BBD Bag and the Calcutta High Court, directly opposite Bankshall Court. Because the chamber is within walking distance of both the High Court and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court, a consultation can often be combined with a filing or a mention on the same morning.

By metro, Central and Esplanade are the nearest stations, each roughly a ten to fifteen minute walk through the BBD Bag office district. Buses terminating at BBD Bag or on Bentinck Street stop within a few minutes of the door. Parking in the area is restricted during working hours, so a taxi or metro is usually simpler than driving; if a car is brought, allow time to find a legal stand nearby.

Ordinary hours are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 7 PM, and Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM. The chamber is closed on Sundays and on court holidays. Urgent calls about an arrest, a police raid or a warrant are attended to outside these hours, because those events do not keep office timings; routine enquiries received at night are answered on the next working morning. An appointment is advisable before visiting, since time at the chamber is allotted and a matter may be in court when you arrive.

To fix a sitting, call +91 90070 00603 or send a message through the enquiry form on this page. Say in one or two lines what the matter is, which forum it is in or may go to, and whether any date is imminent. That is enough to decide whether the first meeting should be at the chamber, by phone, or on the way to a court appearance.

What to Bring to a First Meeting

The more of the record you carry, the more the first sitting can accomplish. Nothing needs to be complete or neatly arranged; what matters is that the documents exist and can be read. Bring originals where you have them, and copies of anything you may need to leave at the chamber.

• The document that started the dispute: the FIR copy, the police complaint, the legal notice, the show-cause notice, the bank demand notice or the cheque return memo.
• Anything already filed in court: the petition or plaint, the reply, the order sheet, and the next date of listing if one is fixed.
• The transactional papers: agreements to sell, sale deeds, lease deeds, wills, loan sanction letters, statements of account, invoices and receipts that the dispute turns on.
• A one-page timeline in your own words: what happened, in what order, and on what dates. This is often the single most useful paper at the meeting.
• Identity and address proof for the engagement note, if you expect to instruct the chamber.
• Any correspondence with the other side or with an authority, including emails and WhatsApp messages that contain an admission or a demand.

Do not leave an adverse document at home because it looks unhelpful. An inconvenient paper that is dealt with in the pleadings is far less damaging than one that appears at the hearing. Where documents are voluminous, bring an index and the pages you consider central; the chamber will ask for the rest after the first review.

What to Expect

• A short, focused sitting. Twenty to thirty minutes is usual. The facts are taken in sequence, the papers read against them, and the discussion moves to remedies and forums.
• An honest assessment. You will be told where the record is weak, what the other side will attack and what the realistic range of outcomes is. No forecast of a result will be given.
• A clear next step. Either an engagement note setting out the remedy, forum, timeline and fee basis, or a referral if the matter belongs elsewhere or needs a specialist.
• No pressure to decide on the spot. You can take the engagement note away, read it and revert. Nothing is filed until it is signed.

If the matter is urgent, say so when you call. An arrest, a production before a magistrate or a warrant already issued changes the order in which the chamber's day is arranged, and the first sitting may be moved earlier or held by phone.

Questions About Consultations

Do I need an appointment, or can I walk in?

An appointment is better. The advocate is often in court during the day, and a walk-in may arrive while a matter is being argued. Calling first means a slot is kept and the papers can be read beforehand. If you are already in the BBD Bag area for a court date, call and ask whether a short sitting can be fitted in after the appearance.

What if I have no documents at all?

Come anyway. Plenty of first meetings begin with nothing in writing, and the first task is to work out what needs to be created or obtained: a complaint, a notice, a certified copy of an order or a record from a registry. Bring identity proof and the facts in sequence. If a document has to be applied for, the chamber tells you where and how long it usually takes.

Can a family member or friend attend instead of me?

A relative or friend may accompany you and may speak where you prefer it, but instructions have to come from the person who is party to the matter. Where the client cannot travel, a phone or video sitting is arranged, and a written authorisation is taken before anyone else is briefed. Privilege attaches to the client's communications, so the chamber will confirm who is instructing before discussing the file.