Tag: calcutta high court

20Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Calcutta HC orders stay on Bengal govt stipend for school staff sacked by SC

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court ordered a stay till September 26 on the West Bengal government’s monthly stipend for 2016-batch Group-C and D school staff, whose appointments were scrapped by the Supreme Court in April over a bribe-for-job case, according to lawyers who were present at the hearing on Friday. The contempt petition was filed by a section of the 25,752 teachers and non-teaching staff appointed in 2016. (AP/Representative Image) Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced on April 26 monthly stipends of ₹25,000 and ₹20,000 for the jobless Group-C and D staff, respectively. “The order directed the state to file an affidavit in four weeks explaining why public money should be used to pay stipend to people whose appointments have been cancelled by the Supreme Court...

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20Jun By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Days after interim stay, contempt plea in HC over ‘OBC list’ in college portal

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed a contempt petition to be filed against the West Bengal government for allegedly violating the stay on the interim Other Backward Classes (OBC) list in undergraduate college admissions in the state. Petitioner Purabi Das approached the Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Ritobrata Kumar Mitra, alleging that despite the High Court’s interim stay on the new OBC list, the state-run college admission portal continues to display reservation under the OBC-A and OBC-B categories. “We stated that in the recent college admissions portal, the Tuesday’s order of the High Court is not being followed. Thus, it is a contempt of court. We have made the chief secretary and secretary, Education Department, a party in the matter,” counsel B...

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19Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Calcutta HC MGNREGA order: Govt to seek arrears, BJP says ‘won’t change anything’

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that her government will seek arrears from the Centre in the wake of the Calcutta High Court’s order for restart of the MGNREGA, the 100-day rural job guarantee scheme, in the state after a gap of three years. Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who represented the state government in the High Court, told The Indian Express that the logical next step would be to pay the arrears. “We have been fighting the case for the last two years, and the Chief Justice came to the finding that it is the statutory obligation of both the Centre and the state government to ensure the 100-day work. And the court has passed an order to that extent, though belatedly. The arrears have to be paid. Under the law, you have to give the job or provide unemploy...

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19Jun By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

HC orders Centre to restart MGNREGA in Bengal from Aug 1, TMC says state govt vindicated

Stating that no central scheme can be sent to cold storage forever, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to restart MGNREGA, the 100-day rural job guarantee scheme, in West Bengal prospectively from August 1.The Division Bench of the High Court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, allowed the Centre to impose special conditions, restrictions, and regulations — not imposed in other states — to ensure that no irregularity occurs when the scheme is being implemented in West Bengal. The BJP-led government at the Centre had stopped the implementation of the scheme in West Bengal from March 9, 2022, alleging widespread irregularities and non-compliance of its directives by the state. The TMC government in the state, on the other hand, accused the Centre of withholding the MGN...

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18Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Resume MGNREGA in West Bengal: Calcutta HC to Centre

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday ordered that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been stalled in the state for three years following allegations of corruption, be restarted from August 1. During the hearing, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam observed, “No central project can be sent to the cold storage forever. The Centre can impose any kind of conditions to prevent corruption.” The state government has alleged that the Centre withheld wages for the scheme, while the central government claims there was widespread corruption in its rollout in Bengal. Story continues below this ad The Bench ordered that the Centre can impose special conditions only for West Bengal. The court further observed, “If the Centre wants, it can send mon...

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18Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Calcutta HC directs govt to publish 6th Pay Commission report

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the West Bengal government to publish the report of the Sixth Pay Commission by July 1. The order was passed in response to a case filed by government employee Debaprasad Halder, who alleged that despite repeated appeals, the report had not been made available online. He argued that while the state claims to follow the Sixth Pay Commission in its submissions in the Daily Allowance case, no corresponding documentation is publicly accessible. Justice Amrita Sinha’s single-judge bench ordered that the recommendations be uploaded on the official website of the State Pay Commission, making it accessible to the public. Story continues below this ad During the hearing, Justice Sinha questioned the state’s silence on the matter and obser...

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18Jun By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Bengal Quota row | HC puts stay on OBC list, asks state: ‘Why not wait for SC order?’

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday put an interim stay on notifications issued by the West Bengal government with regard to reservations to 140 subsections under OBC-A and OBC-B categories made by it.This comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the new OBC list in the Assembly. The Opposition BJP had claimed that most of the new sub-sections in the list belonged to the Muslim community. Hearing a petition, filed by one Amal Chandra Das, challenging the new OBC list, the Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Rajasekhar Mantha directed that executive notifications made between May 8 and June 13 about Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories will not be in effect till July 31. Story continues below this ad The Bench, however, said those ...

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17Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Calcutta HC seeks govt’s response on transfer of 3 RG Kar doctors: ‘What’s the basis?’

The Calcutta High Court has sought a response from the West Bengal government on whether the matter about the posting of three junior doctors of RG Kar Hospital should be heard by the High Court or the state tribunal. Justice Biswajit Basu, while hearing a petition regarding the transfer of three junior doctors who were the face of the last year’s RG Kar protests, on Monday also asked the state government to give in writing why the three were not given their desired postings. “Are the postings given on the basis of ranks or on what basis is it decided which doctor will be posted where?” Justice Basu asked the government. Story continues below this ad Three junior doctors — Debasish Haldar, Aniket Mahato and Asfaqullah Naiya — had become the face of the protests at the RG K...

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15Jun By source belowNo Comments

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BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay hospitalised in Kolkata with acute pancreatitis

West Bengal BJP MP and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata Saturday after complaining of abdominal pain. Gangopadhyay, 63, is being treated in the intensive care unit for acute pancreatitis with gastrointestinal sepsis. A Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital official stated that the MP was admitted after he experienced slight discomfort. Investigations are ongoing to evaluate his condition and a team of doctors is closely monitoring him, said the official. “Member of Parliament and former Calcutta High Court judge Mr Abhijit Gangopadhyay, 63, got admitted at Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital on Saturday, with complaints of vomiting, abdominal pain, and abdominal distension. Investigations have indicated acute pancreatitis with ...

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9Jun By source belowNo Comments

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After Calcutta High Court order, 15-year-old eligible to get surname of stepfather

In Bengal, a 15-year-old’s parents had separated the year he was born, 2010, and their marriage was dissolved by a civil court decree in September 2016. The only link he had to his biological father was his surname. In March 2020, his single mother remarried, and the child was subsequently cared for by both his mother and stepfather. As the biological father had no contact with the child and had been living abroad, the mother sought to change the child’s surname to that of his stepfather. The mother and her second husband filed a writ petition seeking a direction to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to change the child’s surname, replace the father’s name on the birth certificate, and amend the mother’s surname on it. Story continues below this ad Significantly, the biolog...

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6Jun By source belowNo Comments

Politics

Law student Sharmishta Panoli walks out of Kolkata jail. ‘Wiser, learnt her lesson,’ says her father

New Delhi: A day before law student Sharmishta Panoli walked out of the Alipore Women’s Correctional Home, her father had said she “has learnt her lesson and will come out wiser”. Panoli who was arrested on 31 May from Gurugram by Kolkata Police was released from jail Friday, a day after the Calcutta High Court granted her bail. Kolkata Police arrested the 22-year-old influencer, Sharmishta, based on a 15 May FIR against her at the Garden Reach Police Station over a social media video. Show Full Article Speaking to ThePrint over a call Thursday evening, only hours after her bail was granted, the father said, “We tried to remain very low key on this and stayed away from politics, but after what happened in Gurgaon (Sharmishta’s arrest), we think there is defi...

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3Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Calcutta High Court to hear petition against SSC notification for fresh recruitment of 35,726 teachers

A petition was filed Tuesday before the Calcutta High Court’s vacation bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee to challenge the latest notification issued by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) for the recruitment of 35,726 teachers. The petitioner Lubana Parveen, who was one of the almost 26,000 teachers appointed in 2016 by the SSC who lost their jobs this year after a Supreme Court judgment, alleges that the notification violates directives previously issued by the apex court. The matter is expected to be heard on June 5. According to advocate Firdous Shamim, the Supreme Court did not authorise the “creation” of a new recruitment rule that allocates 10 marks for teaching experience. Effectively, he claims, the rule means that the sacked teachers would sit for an exam of...

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3Jun By source belowNo Comments

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Calcutta HC denies bail for Sharmistha Panoli; orders police to produce case diary

The Calcutta High Court single bench of Justice Parth Sarathi Chatterjee on Tuesday refused to grant interim bail to 22-year-old law student Sharmistha Panoli. After Operation Sindoor, Panoli had allegedly posted an offensive video “targeting individuals based on their identity”. After facing backlash, she deleted the video and issued an apology. A student at Symbiosis Law School in Pune with nearly 2 lakh followers across social media platforms, Paloni was arrested in Gurugram on May 30. A Kolkata court subsequently remanded her to 14 days of judicial custody. Story continues below this ad On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court directed that a May 15 complaint filed at Garden Reach police station by Wajahat Khan be treated as the principal case, and all other FIRs based on s...

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29May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Bengal college admissions in limbo: 2024 HC order on OBC certificates causes delay

The fate of 4,82,948 students who appeared for the Higher Secondary (Uccha Madhyamik) exams in Bengal remains uncertain, as undergraduate admissions through the Centralised Admission Portal (CAP) to around 460 government colleges and universities across the state have been stalled.This is because in May 2024, the Calcutta High Court had dismissed all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued since 2010. The court directed that a new OBC list be prepared under the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. According to sources in the Education Department, officials have written to the state’s Advocate General regarding the commencement of admissions. Story continues below this ad Education Minister Bratya Basu recently told mediapersons, “It is an ongoin...

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26May By source belowNo Comments

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‘Official will reach out today, have faith in govt’: Bengal Education minister tells protesting teachers

West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Sunday once again urged the protesting teachers to have faith in the state government highlighting that it has already submitted a review petition. Speaking to mediapersons, Basu said that he had received a letter from the protesting teachers but the reason for their requested meeting was not specified in it. “I have got a letter from the agitating teachers, but why they want to meet me is not mentioned in the letter,” he said. According to Basu, a senior official will meet the protesting teachers on Monday to ascertain their demands as the government is exploring all possible legal steps to solve the issue. Story continues below this ad “We are sympathetic towards them, if they want to sit, let them clearly mention in a format...

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21May By source belowNo Comments

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Murshidabad violence: High Court-appointed panel says local police were inactive, absent

The three-member committee formed by the Calcutta High Court to look into last month’s violence in Murshidabad has said in its report that police were “completely inactive”. The report also mentioned local Trinamool Congress leader Mehboob Alam. “The attacks were directed by the local councillor Mehboob Alam. The local police were completely inactive and absent,” the report said of the violence that took place on April 11. The Calcutta High Court had last month directed the formation of a three-member committee to oversee the rehabilitation of those affected by the violence that broke out in Murshidabad between April 8 and 12 following protests against the Waqf Amendment Bill. The committee comprises Joginder Singh, Registrar, National Human Rights Commission; Satya Arnab Ghosal, member se...

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20May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Deprived teachers move Calcutta HC against CM’s relief for Group C and D staff

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced a monthly ex gratia allowance for Group C and Group D staff from the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) panel who lost their jobs, following a Supreme Court order last month. On Tuesday, teachers deprived of a salary approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging this decision. The matter was mentioned before Justice Amrita Sinha, who granted permission to file the case. Speaking to The Indian Express, counsel Sudipto Dasgupta, who mentioned the matter, said, “(The ex gratia payment) is unconstitutional and violates the right to equality and the right to life. It goes against the Supreme Court order.” Story continues below this ad The state government had announced the ex gratia decision following a cabinet meetin...

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19May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Mamata warns teachers not to cross ‘Lakshman Rekha’ of agitation: ‘Fight issue legally’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has warned protesting teachers not to cross the “Lakshman Rekha” of andolan (agitation), urging them to pursue legal avenues instead of stage dharnas.“We are all humans. We can love those who have respect for humanity. I am not against andolan. However, there is a ‘Lakshman Rekha’ for an andolan. Just like I cannot stop anyone, nobody can stop me either. I would suggest they fight the issue legally. We will help them—we are already doing so. We are not against them,” Banerjee said. On April 3, the Supreme Court termed the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process as “vitiated and tainted by fraud”, and upheld a Calcutta High Court order on an alleged school jobs scam case. As a result, almost 26,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs we...

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17May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

BJP MP Jyotirmay Mahato writes to Calcutta HC, requests it to take suo motu cognisance of ‘police brutality’ amid teachers’ protest

BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato wrote to the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice on Saturday requesting the court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged police brutality during the teachers’ protest in front of Bikas Bhavan in Kolkata on Thursday. Mahato’s letter highlighted “excessive use of force by the police, resulting in severe injuries to numerous teachers, as well as police inaction during attacks on the protesters by certain Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders” amid the protest. Teachers who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order over allegations of irregularities in recruitment clashed with police during their protest and broke open the main gate of Bikash Bhavan, the West Bengal Education Department headquarters in Salt Lake. Story continues below this ad O...

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17May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Remunerate & restore all parties whose lives, properties affected in Murshidabad violence: Calcutta HC to govt

THE CALCUTTA High Court on Thursday directed the TMC government in the state to “remunerate and restore” all parties whose lives and properties were affected during the clashes in Murshidabad last month during protests over the Waqf law. The court was hearing a public interest litigation in connection with the violence that broke out between April 8 and 12 in the Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad, leading to the deaths of three persons, including a father-son duo. A division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury said, “Compensating the victims by giving each of them Rs 1.20 lakh under the scheme ‘Banglar Bari’ may not do justice to all as the damaged and destroyed houses, differing in size and constructional features, do not admit of uniform financial salve.” Story co...

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16May By source belowNo Comments

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Police strength less, now is the time to hire more: HC to govt on Murshidabad violence

Releasing a petition seeking a CBI probe into the murder of a father-son duo, who were killed in the communal violence that had rocked parts of Murshidabad district in April, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday advised the state government to employ more police personnel. “Now is the time to recruit sufficient police personnel. The number of police personnel in each district is less. The police force in Murshidabad is also very small,” the court said, adding had there “been a sufficient number of police personnel, the situation in Dhuliyan could have been brought under control”. The High Court bench further commented that there should be a minimum number of forces in every place. Story continues below this ad The state government’s counsel, Kalyan Bandopadhyay, however, po...

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13May By source belowNo Comments

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HC allows plea alleging ‘irregularities’ in functioning of Digha Jagannath temple

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted permission for filing a petition alleging “irregularities” in the administration and functioning of the newly inaugurated Jagannath Dham temple in West Bengal’s Digha. The matter was “mentioned” before the division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De, questioning how tax exemptions on donations can be justified if the temple is officially part of a “West Bengal government-funded cultural centre”. In the petition, Kaustav Bagchi, a lawyer, claimed that the temple is being operated under the guise of a private trust even as the address listed for donations is that of the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), a government agency. Story continues below this ad The petitioner sought an investigation into how...

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5May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Calcutta High Court stays demolition of rooftop restaurant amid KMC crackdown

The Calcutta High Court imposed a stay on the Kolkata Municipal Corporation order directing the demolition of a rooftop restaurant in the city. While posting the matter for hearing on Thursday, the HC urged the KMC not to take any stringent action while the case is being heard. The order comes amid a crackdown on unauthorised constructions in the city following a fire which killed 14 people in Rituraj on April 30. The civic body has served notices to numerous establishments, including popular ones, directing them to dismantle any unauthorised constructions or face legal repercussions. An owner of a rooftop restaurant on Park Street had moved the court, claiming that the restaurant was being demolished despite having “permission”. Justice Gaurang Kant observed, “You cannot demolish a resta...

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3May By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Ruckus at Howrah court: HC issues contempt rule against IPS officer Vishal Garg, 6 other policemen

THE CALCUTTA High Court on Friday issued rule of contempt against IPS officer Vishal Garg and six other police officers in connection with “untoward incidents” that took place on the premises of a court in Howrah in April last year. A division bench comprising justice Debangsu Basak and Arindam Mukherjee wrote in the order, “…some untoward incidents took place on the premises of the Howrah Sadar court on April 24, 2024. There were allegations that police entered the court premises without any authority and applied disproportionate force which caused not only loss and damages to the advocates practicing in the said court but also amounted to interference or tends to interfere with or obstruct, or tend to obstruct, the administration of justice.” The court also directed the authorities conce...

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24Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Bengal Education Department questions maintainability of contempt petition

The West Bengal Education Department on Wednesday questioned before the Calcutta High Court the maintainability of a contempt petition that claimed non-compliance of its order regarding 26,000 school jobs in the state.  The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) and the secondary education Board raised questions about the admissibility of the case before the division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbat Rashidi. The petitioners, complaining of violation of the judgment passed by the Calcutta HC on April 22, 2024 and “as modified” by the Supreme Court on April 3 and on April 17 this year, moved the contempt petition before the HC. They claimed that the education department has not uploaded OMR sheets, available in three hard disks on the SSC website and that these be ma...

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18Apr By source belowNo Comments

Gaming

Murshidabad violence | HC no to NIA probe: ‘Centre free to order’

Refusing to order probe by National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the last week’s violence in Murshidabad district during a protest against the new Waqf law, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered the formation of a three-member committee for identification and rehabilitation of people displaced by the violence.A Division Bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury said that the prime responsibility was currently to restore and rehabilitate those who have been displaced during the arson and violence. The committee will comprise a member each from the National Human Rights Commission, the West Bengal State Human Rights Commission and State Legal Services Authority. Story continues below this ad The court also said the central forces should remain depl...

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