An interim order from a division bench of the high court has authorised the conduct of Chhath rituals at a private ghat in Bally, Howrah, during the hearing of an appeal challenging a single bench decision that restricted public access to the private property.

Friday’s order, however, clarified that this is an interim measure and the bench would hear the appeal again on October 29.

The division bench of judges Debangshu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi ordered the police to protect the 136-year-old structure and also to install CCTV cameras to capture footage of the ritual before the next hearing.

The ghat in question is Raasbari Ghat, which is part of the Purna Chandra Daw Temple Complex, a private property owned by the Shibkrishna Debuttar Estate at 6, Kakeswar Tolla Lane in Bally, Howrah.

“The complex has our Radha Krishna temple, facing which stand six smaller, identical-looking Shiva temples, a shelter for sevaits, a Raas Mancha, and a Naat Mancha. Raasbari was built by our ancestor Purna Chandra Daw in 1890,” said Atanu Daw, a seventh-generation descendant of Purna Chandra and a member of the Jorasanko Daw family.

A trickle of devotees using the ghat on Chhath till a few years back has swelled to thousands over the last four to five years, the family members allege.

“A lot of damage is inflicted on the complex, especially its guard walls, because of the gathering. Such a huge assembly endangers the structural stability of the old temple,” said the counsel appearing for the debuttar estate, Jayanta Sengupta.

“In 2022, a group of Chhath puja organisers had secured a court order allowing them to use the ghat for rituals, which we were handed the day before Chhath puja. We were not even made a party respondent. In 2023, we moved court and Justice Amrita Sinha allowed the rituals to take place that year as there was little time left to make alternative arrangements. But she had given strict directives to the police to ensure that our property was not damaged. In 2024, too, we were not made a party to the case that was filed and, when we sought a recall, the government pleaded that there was no time to make alternative arrangements. This has been a recurring excuse,” Daw said.

A vacation bench of Justice Shampa Dutt Pal on October 14 ruled in favour of the family, asking the police to make alternative arrangements, sparing the private property, pointing out that there were several public ghats in the area. The Chhath Puja Samity moved an appeal against the order and was granted an urgent hearing on Friday.