Calcutta, Sept. 21: Calcutta High Court today allowed the immersion of Durga idols on the day of Muharram (Sunday, October 1) and extended the Vijaya Dashami (Saturday, September 30) immersion deadline till midnight.
All idols that reach the ghats by midnight from September 30 to October 4 will be allowed to be immersed, a division bench said while ordering an interim stay on a notification issued by the state.
The notification dated September 14 had restricted the immersion of idols till 10pm on Dashami and disallowed it on October 1.
The court directed the police to make necessary arrangements and clearly demarcate routes for the Durga immersion and Muharram processions so that they can take place simultaneously.
'We hope and trust that both the communities will show respect against the other and avoid untoward incidents,' said the division bench of acting Chief Justice Rakesh Tiwari and Justice Harish Tandon. The bench observed that the order was passed considering the religious sentiments of both the communities and said: 'The court cannot curb the fundamental right of any of the communities.'
'The idols that reach the banks of the Ganges by midnight will be allowed to be immersed from September 30 to October 4,' the bench said.
A senior lawyer of the state panel said the Bengal government was yet to decide whether it would move a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court against the high court order.
The order today followed two separate petitions by Smarajit Roy Chowdhury, an advocate, and the Youth Bar Association, the legal cell of the RSS. The division bench, however, made it clear that since it was not quashing the government's notification regarding immersion, the original petitions will be heard in detail after five weeks. 'Our today's order is an interim order and the court will hear the matter after five weeks. In the meantime, the petitioners are directed to file their affidavits and the state will file its affidavit two weeks thereafter,' the bench said.
That hearing will not affect this immersion but could have an impact on future decisions.
Soon after the high court's interim order, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with Bengal chief secretary Malay De, Bengal director-general of police Surajit Kar Purkayastha and Calcutta police commissioner Rajeev Kumar to decide the next course of action.
'A meeting will be held tomorrow with the superintendents of police of all districts to give them a clear instruction on how to plan everything in advance in the city as well as the districts,' said a senior government official.
A section of the officials at Nabanna, the state secretariat, said the government's top rung was averse to contesting the interim order.
'But the final decision could be taken only after a couple of top officials go through the high court order by tomorrow,' said an official.
The petitions challenging the state notification on immersion was first moved on September 9 before the division bench of then acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapabrata Chakrabarty.
After two hearings, Justice Mhatre retired on September 18 and the issue came up for disposal before the division bench of present acting Chief Justice Rakesh Tiwari and Justice Harish Tandon.
The division bench headed by present acting chief justice heard the matter yesterday and delivered the order today.
Initially, the state government had issued a notification on September 9 allowing the immersion of idols till 6pm on Dashami day and banned immersion on the day of Muharram.
But later, after consulting some Puja organisers, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to extend the deadline for immersion up to 10pm on Dashami day and issued a revised notification on September 14.
