1 hr ago
Supreme Court Sends Trinamool Signboard Row Back to Calcutta HC
The Trinamool Congress had a large signboard on a building in Kolkata.
City officials removed it, saying it did not have the required permission and taxes had not been paid.
The party said it should have received notice before the signboard was taken down.
Party representatives first asked the Calcutta High Court for temporary help, but the court did not grant it.
They then asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
The Supreme Court did not decide who was right.
Instead, it told the Calcutta High Court to hear all the arguments and decide quickly.
The dispute also led to clashes, police cases, and questions about fire safety in the building.
The Supreme Court directed the Calcutta High Court to decide the Trinamool Congress signboard dispute expeditiously.
The case concerns removal of an allegedly unauthorised billboard from the party office building at 9 Camac Street, Kolkata.
The Trinamool Congress says the billboard was removed without notice and seeks its restoration.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation says the billboard lacked mandatory permission and applicable tax payments.
The removal prompted clashes, three police FIRs, arrests, and subsequent fire-safety scrutiny of the premises.
- Who
- The All India Trinamool Congress, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Kolkata Police, and the Calcutta High Court are central to the dispute; the Supreme Court heard the party's appeal.
- What
- The Supreme Court sent the Trinamool Congress' challenge to the removal of its Camac Street signboard back to the Calcutta High Court for an expedited decision.
- Where
- The dispute concerns a building at 9 Camac Street in south Kolkata, West Bengal.
- When
- The billboard was removed on August 27; the Calcutta High Court considered the matter on August 28, and the Supreme Court issued its direction on Monday.
- Why
- The party says the billboard was removed without notice, while the civic authorities say it lacked mandatory permission and applicable tax payments.
Trinamool's Position
Authorities' Position
Notice before removal
Trinamool's Position
The Trinamool Congress argues that the billboard was removed without notice and that the High Court did not properly examine whether notice had been issued.
Authorities' Position
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation proceeded with removal, asserting that the billboard was unauthorised; the articles do not state that the authorities accepted the party's notice claim.
Legality of the billboard
Trinamool's Position
The party says it is a registered political party and that its name was displayed under a registered lease.
Authorities' Position
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation says the billboard lacked mandatory permission and applicable tax payments.
Effect of removal on the case
Trinamool's Position
The party argues that removal did not eliminate its grievance and seeks restoration of the signboard.
Authorities' Position
The initial Calcutta High Court order did not grant interim relief after the billboard had already been removed; the Supreme Court said the pending issues had not been decided on their merits.
Key facts
- Signboard location
- Roof of the office building at 9 Camac Street, Kolkata
- Removal authority
- Kolkata Municipal Corporation, accompanied by police personnel
- Party demand
- Restoration of the signboard and consideration of its arguments about notice and legality
- Supreme Court direction
- The Calcutta High Court should determine all issues expeditiously
- Police action
- Three FIRs were registered and several Trinamool activists were arrested
- Fire-safety notice
- West Bengal Fire Services alleged irregularities and said the fire-safety certificate expired on August 10
- Latest premises direction
- Occupants of the seventh and eighth floors were directed to vacate on September 4 over alleged inadequate fire-fighting measures
Quotes
Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant
The Supreme Court bench hearing the Trinamool Congress petition.
“Merely because it has been removed does not mean that your grievance has been satisfied. If your claim is accepted, the High Court will have to grant you liberty to raise the issue.”
thehansindia.com
“This is a registered political party. Its name was displayed on the building and was removed without notice. A commercial establishment's name would not be removed in this manner.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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