Calcutta, Sept. 16: Calcutta High Court today gave an interim order allowing Santanu Jha to continue as chairman of the Kalyani municipality, staying a single-judge bench’s ruling.

The bench of Justice P.K. Chattopadhyay and Justice K. K. Prosad, however, restrained Jha from taking any policy decision till the final order.

According to case records, the Left Front had won 15 out of the 19 seats in the Kalyani municipal polls in 2005. As the chairperson’s post was declared “reserved” for an SC /ST candidate, Laxmi Oraon, the only ST candidate from the CPM to win, was offered the post.

Oraon later said: “At that time, the CPM forced me to give a written declaration that I was unwilling to hold the post and the district magistrate, after consulting the municipal affairs department, decided to convert the chairman’s post into general category.”

In 2006, Laxmi switched to Trinamul Congress and staked claim to the chairperson’s post. When the district magistrate refused to grant her plea, Laxmi moved the high court.

“Nobody put pressure on Laxmi. She herself refused to take the chair in 2005,” Subrata Mukhopadhyay, the counsel appearing for Jha, told the division bench.

Today’s order came on an appeal by Jha against an order by a different judge of the high court. Justice Girish Gupta had ordered Jha’s removal and said that Oraon be given the job.

The bench today asked the municipal affairs department to file an affidavit stating what law allowed them to convert a “reserved chairman’s post” to the “general category”.