Calcutta High Court gives nod to Saheed Minar rally led by Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday

The high court on Tuesday gave permission to hold a rally led by Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday at Saheed Minar.

It is the same venue where a group of state government employees are staging a sit-in demanding dearness allowance on a par with central government employees .

The court directed police to arrange specific safety measures to ensure peace.

Justice Rajasekhar Mantha said that in addition to a two-layer barricade of bamboo and tin, joint commissioner of police (headquarters) has to ensure CCTV cameras are installed at all important places at the venue.

“Detailed measures to segregate the two parties and their followers, in the demonstration, to be held tomorrow, have been set out. A two-stage barricading, one made of bamboo and the other made of tin, is stated to have been installed. A foolproof security arrangement is stated to have been put in place,” the court ordered.

Work to carry out the court order at the rally venue was on till late Tuesday night, sources said.  

“The respondents shall not engage in any inflammatory speeches or instigate either their own persons or any of the members or followers of the petitioners,” the court order says.

The court order came following a petition that wanted the court to ask Trinamul to change its rally venue as the members of the joint action committee is already been staging a sit-in there.

Moving the case before Justice Mantha, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, the counsel for the committee, said a huge gathering at the venue might lead to a chaos.

Justice Mantha asked the state’s advocate-general, S.N. Mookherjee: “Why did the police not ask them to hold their rally in any other place?” 

The advocate-general said: “The permission was given after taking all possible security measures.” “Even then the police should not have granted the permission,” Justice Mantha said.

After hearing both sides, Justice Mantha said this was the last time the court was allowing two rival parties to hold a meeting at the same venue. “It is ordered that in future, no two rival groups shall be allowed to hold a rally at the same venue on the same date and time, by the police.”