Kolkata, Sept. 11 -- The Trinamool Congress's plan to hold a public meeting in Serampore has hit another legal hurdle, with the Calcutta High Court directing the state to seek a review of the order that had permitted the gathering.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty dismissed the state's challenge and asked it to move the single judge who had originally granted permission.
The dispute centres on a proposed meeting by TMC leader Asit Mazumdar, which is scheduled to be attended by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya had permitted the programme at Mahesh Jagannath Dev's Snanpiri Maidan in Serampore between 1 pm and 3 pm, with the number of attendees capped at 2000.
The permission came after police objected to the party's original plan for a 5000-person rally from the maidan to Serampore court, citing the possibility of traffic congestion on GT Road.
The state and the Jagannath Temple Committee challenged the order before the division bench.
During the earlier proceedings, Additional Advocate General Bilwadal Bhattachharya had argued that the proposed meeting ground was privately owned.
The state had offered Delhi Road as an alternative venue, but Mazumdar's counsel declined
the proposal.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.