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Calcutta High Court
The West Bengal cabinet on Monday approved the 'Annapurna' scheme of Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to women from June 1, and allowed free travel for them in government-run buses. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, state minister Agnimitra Paul said women, who applied for citizenship under the CAA and approached tribunals for inclusion in voter rolls, will also receive 'Annapurna' scheme benefits. "The cabinet gave a nod to the 'Annapurna' scheme of Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to women from June 1. It also approved a proposal to allow free travel for women in government-run buses from June 1," the minister said. The government also approved the constitution of the 7th state pay commission for its employees, and staffers in allied statutory civic bodies, education boards and those working in state-run education institutions, she said. "The Bengal cabinet decided to discontinue government assistance to groups based on religious categorisation from June. The government also
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to entertain the WBIDC's prayer for an unconditional stay of an arbitration award in favour of Tata Motors over a dispute regarding land allotted for setting up a car manufacturing unit in Singur. The court imposed several terms and conditions on award-debtor West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (WBIDC) for imposing a stay on the arbitration award passed on October 30, 2023. Passing the judgment, Justice Aniruddha Roy noted that the disputes between WBIDC and Tata Motors arose with regard to allotment of land for setting up a car manufacturing unit at Singur in West Bengal's Hooghly district, for which land was provided by applicant WBIDC. Following a prolonged anti-land acquisition agitation led by the then opposition leader Mamata Banerjee, Tata Motors left Singur to set up the Nano car plant in Gujarat's Sanand in October 2008. An arbitration tribunal on October 30, 2023, made an award in favour of Tata Motors for an ...
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea challenging the Election Commission's directive to deploy central government and PSU employees for vote counting in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Polling for the 294-member Assembly was held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. Dismissing the petition, Justice Krishna Rao held that there was no illegality in the EC's decision to appoint counting supervisors and assistants from central government or PSU employees instead of state government staff. "It is the prerogative of the office of the EC to appoint the counting supervisor and counting assistant either from the state government or the central government," the court observed. The petition was filed by the TMC, which challenged an April 30 communication issued by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, stating that at least one of the counting supervisor or assistant at each table should be a central government or PSU ...
A high-level meeting on the SIR exercise began at the Calcutta High Court on Saturday afternoon, in accordance with the SC's directives, officials said. The meeting, presided over by HC Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, aims to establish a framework for judicial oversight as mandated by the apex court, they said. The meeting follows the Supreme Court's direction that the remaining stages of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls must now be conducted under the supervision of judicial officers and former judges. Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal were among the officers attending the meeting. The CEO said the meeting would allow all stakeholders to present their "points of view" to resolve existing complexities and receive specific directions on the way forward. Dismayed over the ongoing tussle between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission, the Supreme Court on Friday issued an "extraordinary" direction to .
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday disposed of the TMC's petition praying for protection of its data, saying the ED has informed that it has not seized anything from I-PAC director Pratik Jain's office and home during its raids last week. TMC had moved the court seeking an order for preservation of personal and political data that may have been seized by the ED during its raids on these two premises on January 8. Representing the ED, additional solicitor general SV Raju stated before the court that the agency has not seized anything from these two premises. Disposing of the TMC's petition, Justice Suvra Ghosh observed that in view of the submissions made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Union of India, nothing further remains to be dealt with in the present petition by the ruling party in West Bengal. Justice Ghosh also adjourned a petition by the ED before it seeking a CBI probe into the events of January 8, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had gone to the politica
The ED on Wednesday told the Calcutta High Court that petitions filed by it and the TMC in connection with last week's searches at the residence and office of political consultancy firm director Pratik Jain be adjourned as the agency has moved the Supreme Court on the issue. Trinamool Congress' counsel Menaka Guruswamy submitted that the party was only seeking protection of its data. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's lawyer Kalyan Banerjee objected to the Enforcement Directorate's plea for adjournment. The CM has been made a party by the central probe agency in its petition before the high court. Representing the ED, additional solicitor general SV Raju stated before the bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh that the agency seeks adjournment of the matters at the high court as it has filed a petition on the same issue before the Supreme Court. He said that when a matter is pending before the apex court, a high court should not hear it.
The Calcutta High Court refused to interfere at this stage in a probe being conducted by a special investigation team (SIT) over chaos during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi's event at Salt Lake stadium here on December 13. A division bench presided by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul held that the investigation and enquiry in the case is in the preliminary stage and no material could be placed before it to establish that "investigation/enquiry is vitiated or polluted". The petitioners in three PILs sought transfer of the investigation into the incident to CBI as well as the refund of ticket prices to the spectators, a section of whom had gone on a rampage over not being able to see their favourite star and early conclusion of the event following a messy situation on the ground. Some people were seen jostling around Messi, thus blocking the view of those seated on the stands. Rejecting a prayer for interim relief on the matter, the court said that at this stage, it is not ...
The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred the RG Kar Medical College trainee doctor rape and murder case to the Calcutta High Court. The top court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case in 2024. A bench of justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma directed that the case papers be sent to the high court. The top court also directed that a copy of the status report be given to the parents of the victim. The body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found in the hospital's seminar room on August 9 last year. The Kolkata Police arrested Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, the next day. On January 20, a Kolkata trial court awarded convict Roy "life term imprisonment till death" in the case. The crime triggered nationwide outrage and prolonged protests in West Bengal. The apex court, even after the primary conviction, is monitoring multiple ancillary issues, including regularising the unauthorised absence of doctors. While taking suo motu notice of the case, the bench constitute
Ripples of Saturday's Salt Lake stadium spectator rampage during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi showcasing event reached the corridors of the Calcutta High Court on Monday after Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Pal allowed the filing of three separate PILs related to the fiasco. The petitions sought the court's intervention to transfer the probe into the stadium violence to central agencies such as the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The petitions, separately moved by the state's Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and advocates Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay and Mainak Ghoshal, are likely to be heard together by the court later this week. Appearing for Adhikari, advocate Bilwadal Bhattacharya sought permission to file a petition seeking the court's intervention into unearthing the factors that led to the crowd unrest on Saturday. He also challenged the authority of the three-member inquiry committee constituted by the state ..
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education president Kalyanmoy Ganguly in a school jobs scam case of the CBI. His lawyers prayed for bail before the court as he has been in custody in the case for more than three years and all other accused in the case have already been granted bail by different courts. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh granted bail to Ganguly upon hearing the lawyers of the applicant and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). CBI opposed the bail prayer, arguing that the witness deposition process was nearing completion in the case and that Ganguly should not be released at this stage. All other accused in the case, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, secured bail in the CBI case pertaining to alleged illegalities in school jobs recruitment in West Bengal government-run and -aided schools. Ganguly has already been granted bail by this high court in a case being investigated by the Enforcement
The Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside the Centre's decision to deport Sonali Bibi and Sweety Bibi, residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal, along with their families to Bangladesh after terming them as "illegal immigrants". The court directed the Centre to ensure that the six deported citizens are brought back to India within a month. The court also rejected the central government's appeal to grant temporary stay on the order. In July this year, PTI had visited both families in the Paikar area of Murarai, Birbhum post the deportation of the suspects and reported on the plight of the members living on the Indian side of the border. A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra passed two orders in connection with a Habeas Corpus petition filed by Bhodu Sheikh who claimed that her daughter Sunali, who is currently nine months pregnant, along with her husband, Danesh Sheikh, and five-year-old son hailing from Murarai in Birbhum, were detained
Holding that looking for another job, even if with a rival company with better perks and facilities, is a basic right and does not constitute moral turpitude, the Calcutta High Court has held that non-payment of an employee's dues on such ground by a company was against the principles of natural justice. Setting aside the order and punishment of the disciplinary authority of the company, which claims to be the sole manufacturer of a particular type of insulator film in India, Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) directed it to pay his gratuity dues of Rs 1.37 lakh along with simple interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum. "Looking for another job, even if with a rival company (though, not proved in this case) with better perks and facilities is a basic right and does not constitute moral turpitude as it is not contrary to honesty, modesty or good morals," Justice Dutt observed in the judgment passed on Thursday. The court held that the petitioner company could not prove that any damage o
The father of the R G Kar hospital rape-murder victim has moved the Calcutta High Court praying for setting aside a lower court order that refused permission to his lawyers to visit the crime scene at the state-run medical institution. The petitioner claimed that he firmly believes that other persons were present along with Sanjay Roy, who has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment till the end of his natural life by the trial court for the rape and murder of the doctor, when the crime was committed on August 9 last year. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing early next week before a single bench of the high court, his counsel said. The petitioner stated that to assist the court in discovering any material lapse in investigation, it is crucial for an independent examination of the place of occurrence. He prayed that his lawyer Phiroze Edulji along with six junior advocates be allowed to visit the place of occurrence at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital for two ho