On Wednesday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court allowed the West Bengal government to appeal a single bench order that had halted proceedings on an FIR against multiple BJP MLAs. The FIR stemmed from a complaint accusing them of disrespecting the national anthem.

The Calcutta Police issued notices to five BJP MLAs following a complaint. The allegation suggested that during the singing of the national anthem by ruling TMC legislators on the premises of the West Bengal assembly last month, these MLAs showed disrespect.

Sankar Ghosh, along with other BJP members, approached the high court seeking the dismissal of the FIR filed against the party's legislators. On December 7, a single bench led by Justice Jay Sengupta granted a temporary halt until January 17 on the ongoing proceedings related to the FIR.

The state's counsel requested permission from the division bench, led by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam, to file an appeal against the single bench order.

With Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya also on the division bench, they instructed the state to provide copies of the appeal to the respondents.

The scheduled hearing for this matter is set for December 20.

The FIR came into being following accusations from the state's ruling party, alleging that BJP legislators had chanted anti-state government slogans and refrained from standing during the singing of the anthem. This incident occurred on November 29 while both groups were staging separate protests, not far from each other, focusing on different issues.

Justice Jay Sengupta noted that the act of singing the national anthem amidst slogan shouting from either group raised a debatable question about whether it aligned with the anticipated decorum and the relevant laws.