A high court division bench on Friday directed the Trinamool, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee to file an affidavit stating whether they organised a rally on Central Avenue on July 21, 2025, in violation of an earlier court order.
The bench headed by Justice Arijit Banerjee gave the party and the leaders four weeks to file the affidavit. “The petitioner would submit the reply within two weeks of the filing of the affidavit. The case will be heard again on August 17,” Justice Banerjee said.
The petition stems from a PIL filed in 2015, challenging the practice of political parties holding meetings that block roads.
The matter was later heard by a division bench of then Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and Justice Banerjee, which, on May 3, 2018, said: “Although, ideally, political meetings/rallies/processions should be held on holidays i.e. weekends or other public holidays... we do not deem it proper to pass any such absolute direction. We leave it to the wisdom of the State administration as to whether or not permission should be granted for holding of a political rally... we make one thing abundantly clear. No major or arterial road/street must be completely blocked and made inaccessible...”
In 2025, petitioner Akshay Kumar Sarangi approached the high court, alleging that the Trinamool violated the 2018 order during its July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally.
A fresh plea was filed a few weeks ago, and the matter came up for hearing on Friday.