Calcutta High Court Allows Rally Protesting Against Alleged Illegal Commercial Use Of Zoo Land By State Govt
The Calcutta High Court has allowed a protest to be conducted against the allegedly illegal use of zoo land by the state government. The petitioner sought to conduct a rally between the National Library and Rabindra Sadan to protest against the same with about 1500 participants.
It was submitted that although permission was sought from the police, there was no response to the same.
Counsel for the state argued that the route proposed was a major arterial road in the middle of the city and the timings of the rally would coincide with office timings, leading to a huge clog of traffic. It was further submitted that there were two hospitals on the route which may also be potentially blocked.
In hearing the plea, Justice Jay Sengupta allowed the rally to go ahead while reducing the number of participants to 1000, modifying the timings, and held that:
"It appears that if the number of participants and that time for which the rally is to take place are modified to a certain extent, the same would not cause much disruption in the traffic in the area. In view of the above, let the petitioner organize such rally starting from the Rabindra Sadan Metro Station and passing through PTS crossing- Alipore Zoo and culminating at the National Library on 09.01.2025 between 12 Noon and 15:00 hrs. The number of participants in the rally shall be restricted to about 1000. The organizers shall follow all applicable laws including the norms regarding sound pollution and the like. The organizers shall also ensure that no incitement to violence takes place from the rally."
Case: Jagbir Singh Versus The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Case No: WPA 501 of 2025
Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Cal) 3