The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday permitted the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) to hold its annual Martyrs' Day meeting on July 21 at an alternate venue near Birla Planetarium after the State opposed the party's request to organise the event at its traditional venue in front of Victoria House.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed the Kolkata Police to permit the meeting on one flank of the road in front of Birla Planetarium while ensuring that the other flank remains open for traffic. The Court also capped the number of participants at 3,000 and directed the police to deploy adequate personnel to maintain law and order.

The TMC had approached the High Court after alleging that despite applying on June 27 for permission to hold the annual "Shahid Divas" programme at Victoria House, the authorities kept its application pending while granting permission to the Congress and a rival TMC faction for meetings in the same vicinity.

Senior Advocate and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the party had been organising the programme at Victoria House since 1993 to commemorate the killing of 13 Youth Congress workers during a demonstration led by Mamata Banerjee. He argued that the authorities had unfairly ignored the TMC's application despite it being filed earlier.

During the hearing, the Court noted that a Division Bench had already directed that no rallies be held in front of Victoria House. The Bench repeatedly urged the parties to identify an alternative venue near Esplanade that could accommodate the gathering without disrupting traffic.

Advocate General Surajit Nath Mitra opposed the request to hold the meeting near Victoria House, contending that two other organisations had already been granted permission for programmes in the area and that another gathering would create law and order concerns. The State suggested Wellington Square as an alternative venue, while also proposing Brigade Parade Ground if the expected crowd exceeded 10,000.

However, the petitioners insisted that the meeting should be held somewhere in the Esplanade area because of its historical significance. They eventually suggested the road in front of Birla Planetarium.

Accepting the proposal, the Court observed that permitting the meeting at Victoria House would choke a major thoroughfare and that holding three programmes in close proximity on the same day could create law and order problems.

Dictating the order, the Court said that "without delving into why the petitioner's application was kept pending while other applications were allowed," the police should permit the meeting at one flank of the road in front of Birla Planetarium, while ensuring that the other flank remains open for traffic.

The Court directed that the meeting be held between 12 pm and 3:30 pm, with the number of participants restricted to 3,000. It further ordered the police to deploy adequate personnel to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the programme.

The Bench also directed the organisers to furnish the names and contact details of volunteers who would remain accountable for maintaining order during the meeting.

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