There Should Be Level Playing Field For All Political Parties: Calcutta High Court Permits BJP To Hold Rally Against Electricity Price Hike

The Court took judicial notice of the fact that there were several instances regarding processions, rallies, meetings etc. which were held in regular intervals in the State of West Bengal and more particularly in Kolkata. “Demonstration/Dharna had also taken place on week days in front of Victoria House (CESC office building) by different political parties,” the Bench stated.

A Single Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj observed, “Let the petitioner and his associates hold the rally with not more than 1,000 number of supporters on 26th July, 2024 in between 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The route should be from 6, Muralidhar Sen Lane, Kolkata700073 to Victoria House (CESC office building) and a demonstration in front of Victoria House (CESC office building).”

Advocate Billwadal Bhattacharyya appeared for the petitioner, while SSC Amitesh Banerjee represented the respondents.

The party members of the BJP sought permission to organize a rally from Muralidhar Sen Lane to Victoria House (CESC office building) in Kolkata to protest against the hike in electricity prices. The rally was planned to culminate in a dharna in front of the CESC office building.

The petitioner argued that despite submitting an application to the police stations and the Joint Commissioner of Police (HQ), no permission had been granted. The petitioner referred to the judgment in Raj Chowdhury v. State of West Bengal (2023) where the Co-ordinate Bench of the High Court held that there cannot be any prohibition to rally/demonstration which may be held by a political party peacefully, which asserts the right of political parties to hold peaceful rallies and demonstrations without prohibition.

The State Government opposed the rally after arguing that there had been no recent hike in electricity charges by CESC. It was argued that the planned rally and dharna would cause unnecessary harassment to the public, given the densely populated location of Victoria House in central Kolkata.

Alternatively, it was suggested that the rally could be held on a non-working day in a shorter route to safeguard the interest of the public at large.

The Court referred to the decision in State of West Bengal v. Jagannath Chattopadhyay (2023) wherein it was held that there should be a level playing field for all political parties for holding public rallies, gatherings, and meetings and the law and order has to be looked into by the State.

"...there should be level playing field for all political parties for holding public rallies, gatherings, meetings and the law and order has to be looked into by the State", the Court held referring to the said Judgment. 

Consequently, the Court allowed the petitioners to hold the rally with under 1,000 supporters on July 26, 2024 between 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Muralidhar Sen Lane to Victoria House (CESC office building) and a demonstration in front of Victoria House (CESC office building).

• The petitioner shall abide by all the conditions for holding such rallies. The rally shall not cause any undue obstruction to public at large.
• The police authorities shall make necessary arrangements for security with good number of personnel so as to ensure that no breach of peace takes place and the rally can move peacefully.
• The police arrangements would be made under the supervision of Joint Commissioner of Police (HQ), Lal Bazar, Kolkata.
• Demonstration shall be held subject to observance of rules in relation to noise pollution and without causing any inconvenience to public at large.
• The place of demonstration shall be appropriately cleaned after the demonstration.

Accordingly, the High Court disposed of the petition.

Cause Title: Tamoghna Ghosh v. The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocates Billwadal Bhattacharyya, Suryaneel Das and Chiranjit Pal

Respondents: SSC Amitesh Banerjee; Advocates Amal Sen, Sirsanya Bandhopadhyay and Debangshu Dinda

Click here to read/download the Order