Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday declined to grant immediate permission for a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Kolkata, deferring the matter for hearing on August 13.
The petition had sought approval for a meeting in front of Shiv Mandir at Taratala later the same day, or alternatively on August 14. Advocate Mayukh Mukherjee mentioned the plea before the single bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, stating that on August 5 a councillor of the ruling party had held an event at the same spot with around 1,000 attendees.
Justice Ghosh, however, initially refused to hear the matter, directing the petitioner to move the division bench. “For the protest rally, go to the division bench. File a PIL. No more, enough... I will not allow it,” the judge said, observing that the issue involved public interest.
Senior advocate Billwadal Bhattacharya urged that the matter be heard by Justice Ghosh, arguing it was not a PIL. The judge maintained that such matters should be placed before the division bench unless instructed otherwise.
A clarification was then sought from the division bench which conveyed that the rally matters fell under the “residuary” category assigned to Justice Ghosh, though it issued no formal order. Following the clarification, Justice Ghosh agreed to take up the plea on August 13, given the alternative date suggested.
The city has recently seen multiple large-scale political events, including a BJP march to Nabanna over the RG Kar issue that ended in clashes between protesters and police, leaving several injured.