Calcutta High Court Weekly Round-Up: September 25 To October 1, 2023

NOMINAL INDEXSuman Dutta And Ors Vs State Of West Bengal And Ors. 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 293St. Mary’s Technological Foundation and Another Vs. The West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Limited and Others 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 294Ankita Saha & Anr. V The State of West Bengal & Ors. 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 295Bijoy Kumar Banik and another vs State of West Bengal and others 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 296Ruksana Khatun Vs. Union of India and others 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 297Nand Kishor Shaw & Ors. -Versus- State of West Bengal & Anr. 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 298Dilip Adhikary Vs. Basanta Nath 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 299Pravash Dalui And Ors Vs State Of West Bengal And Ors 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 300Palash Das Vs. The State of West Bengal and others 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 301Sri Nirbhay Lodh Vs. The UCO Bank & Ors. 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 302Sushil Kumar Thard vs. National Jute Manufactures Corporation Limited & Ors. 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 303Calcutta High Court Refuses To Entertain PIL Seeking Permission To Organise 'Durga Puja', Asks Petitioner To Approach Appropriate AuthorityCase: Suman Dutta And Ors Vs State Of West Bengal And Ors. Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 293The Calcutta High Court dismissed a PIL filed by the Sonarpur Uttar Vidhan Sabha Saradutsab Committee, seeking the Court’s permission to construct a Durga Puja pandal and organise Durga Puja celebrations from 19th-25th October, near 45 A/B Bus Stand.In noting that the petitioner’s prayers were not sustainable as a PIL, and that the State had opened a comprehensive portal for granting Durga puja permissions, a bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya held:“This writ petition is not maintainable as a PIL…if an individual or group seeks to hold puja, they have to contact the appropriate authorities for consideration, by way of an application. If permission is granted, responsibility has to be affixed to whom permission has been granted. State has submitted that to obtain permission, application has to be made online through a dedicated portal, which has opened today. Thus, no directions are required to be issued, and the petitioners may seek permission by making applications through the portal.”Religious Freedoms Must Be Balanced With Fundamental Right To Electricity: Calcutta HC Allows High-Tension Wire Overhead Christian Minority LandCase: St. Mary’s Technological Foundation and Another Vs. The West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Limited and Others Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 294The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a plea challenging the passage of a “high-tension transmission line” overhead of a plot of land owned by the St. Mary’s Technological Foundation, which catered to Christian minorities and students from weaker sections of society.In dismissing the arguments of the petitioners, while holding that the right to religious freedom ought to be balanced with overwhelming public interest, a single-bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya held:It is well-settled that the right to get electricity has been read as a component of Article 21 of the Constitution, conferring the right to life. [As the Apex Court held] the provisions of the Telegraph Act, 1885, unobstructed access to lay down telegraph and/or electricity transmission lines is an imperative in the larger public interest, necessary for growth and development of a country and economy and the wellbeing and progress of the citizens. The key is, thus, to strike a balance between Article 30 of the Constitution and overwhelming public interest. The High Tension transmission line is to cater to huge sections of society, in the locality and elsewhere, including the petitioners themselves, who would also be beneficiaries thereof. Such overwhelming public interest cannot be brushed aside to give precedence to the right of the petitioners under Article 30(1), as held by the Five-Judge Bench in Islamic Academy (2003).Compassionate Appointment Helps Tide Over ‘Sudden Crisis’: Calcutta HC Denies Daughter’s Plea For Appointment 13 Yrs After Father’s DeathCase: Ankita Saha & Anr. V The State of West Bengal & Ors. Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 295The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a plea by the writ petitioner, who challenged an order from the Chairman/Secretary, District Primary School Council, Dakshin Dinajpur (“Chairman’”), denying her compassionate appointment upon the passing of her father, who died-in-service in 2010.In upholding the order passed by the Chairman, a single-bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf observed:This Court does not find any infirmity with the order passed by the Chairman dated December 15, 2017, because not only was petitioner no.1 a minor of 14 years of age on the date of death of her father, but the two-year application period had also expired for petitioner no.1 after she attained the age of majority. It is settled law that compassionate appointment is not a right, rather an exception to Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India wherein the same must be...

Calcutta High Court Weekly Round-Up: September 25 To October 1, 2023

Srinjoy Das

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