Calcutta High Court Weekly Round-Up 22nd January To 28th January, 2024

A single bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya while dismissing a plea for appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996, held:

Section 11 of the 1996 Act is one of the earlier interventions by a Court on the presumption of the existence of an arbitration clause. The Court must hence ensure the existence of an arbitration agreement before flagging of the road to the award and beyond. The parties cannot set forth on the procedural journey if there is no arbitration agreement. In the present case, the arbitration agreement muddies the waters with regard to the immediate and unequivocal reference of the dispute to arbitration. The word “may” in the relevant part of the clause gives an option to the parties to either refer the dispute to arbitration or hold back on the arbitration. The word “may” makes the clause conditional on a future event/s or to the other parts of the clause and gives the parties the option to resile from the clause.

Violates Right To Life & Amounts To Ostracisation: Calcutta HC Sets Aside 'Frivolous' Excommunication From Agrahari Sikh Community, Imposes ₹1.5 Lakh Cost

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 25

Case: Sardar Lalu Singh v The State of West Bengal and others

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an order of excommunication by the 'Gurudwara Chhota Singh Sangat,' against the petitioner, excommunicating him from the entire Agrahari Sikh community due to an alleged matrimonial dispute between the petitioner's son and his wife.

In setting aside the order of excommunication and directing the respondent office-bearers to pay costs of Rs 1.5 lakhs to the petitioner due to the harassment suffered by him, a single bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya held:

Excommunication from an entire community, not pertaining to religious persecution alone but also the social life and relations of the petitioner is such a stringent action, which touches the normal life of a person and the right to live with dignity. Petitioner [cannot] be held responsible for a dispute between his son and his daughter-in-law. Even if there is such a dispute, the same cannot castigate either of the parties to the said dispute, more so at the behest of a Gurudwara. For such innocuous reason, the extreme step of social, religious and economic excommunication unleashed on the petitioner is palpably violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Payment To Third Party Instead Of Selling Dealer, ITC Not Allowable: Calcutta High Court

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 26

Case Title: Pacharia Exports Private Limited Vs. The Special Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, West Bengal & Ors.

The Calcutta High Court has held that the writ petitioner is not entitled to the benefit of input tax credit as he has not paid the amount to the selling dealer but to a third party.

The bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya has observed that the writ petitioner is precluded from adding words to a statute to state that he will be entitled to the benefit of the input tax credit, though he has not paid the amount to the selling dealer to a third party based on certain instructions.

Madhyamik Exams 2024 | Calcutta HC Declines Plea Challenging Revised Exam Timings, Directs State & Secondary Examination Board To Ensure Students' Convenience

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 27

Case: Ranaghat OBR Brihattara Graduate Teachers' Association -Vs- The State of West Bengal & Ors

The Calcutta High Court has declined a plea by an association of teachers challenging a decision of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) whereby the timing of the ensuing Madhyamik Pariksha (SE) 2024 had been rescheduled from 11.45 am-3 pm to 9:45 a.m- 1 p.m.

While observing that the decision of the WBBSE, which was communicated only 2 weeks before the commencement of the exams could have been notified in advance, a single bench of Justice Biswajit Basu directed the State to ensure that all possible assistance was provided to the exam-taking students and laid down guidelines for the same.

It held: The Board should have announced the rescheduled timing much earlier than just two weeks before the examination and thereby has made the situation irreversible. This Court, for the said reason only is not interfering with the decision of the Board to reschedule the timing of the examination. However, the Board and the State Administration must ensure that the students shall not face any difficulty in taking up the said examination.

Freedom Of Press Indespensible To Democracy, Must Be Protected From Intimidation: Calcutta HC Allows Anticipatory Bail To ABP Ananda Journalist

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 28

Case: In the matter of : Ranjit Das @ Mohan Das

The Calcutta High Court has recently allowed a plea for anticipatory bail moved by a journalist working with ABP Ananda News, who was allegedly falsely implicated in criminal cases after having taken videos of illegal sand mining.

A division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi held:

Petitioner claims that he recorded illegal sand mining activities in pursuit of his journalist endeavours. There is an issue of false implication arising out of his journalistic work Freedom of press is indespensible to democracy. Freedom of press can be maintained by ringfencing the press from intimidation. A journalist is part of the press. His freedom to execute his journalistic endeavours needs to be protected. In such circumstances, we grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner. 

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

MGNREGA | Calcutta High Court Proposes Constitution Of Four-Person Committee To Undertake District-Wise Verification Of Wage Claims By Workers

Case: Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity & Anr. Vs. The Union of India & Ors

Case No: WPA(P) 237 of 2023

The Calcutta High Court has directed the constitution of a four-member committee comprising of state and central government officials along with officials from the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Accountant General.

A bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya passed the order in an ongoing plea to secure unpaid wages to the tune of Rs.276484.47 lakhs along with statutory interest for thousands of MNREGA workers who were left unpaid for a substantial amount of time.

The bench held:

The matter has been lingering before this court for a quite long period of time and this court is of the firm view that a genuine verification process has to be done district-wise by a Team of four officers. This Team to be constituted shall do the verification on a district-wise basis and in each district the verification can be done at the sub-divisional levels so that the Team can visit those Sub-Divisions and the matter can be resolved at the earliest.

'Lightly' Interfering In State's Investigation May Disrupt Co-operative Federalism: Calcutta HC Stays Order For CBI Probe Into Medical College Admissions

Case: Ishita Soren v Union of India/Backward Classes Welfare Department v Ishita Soren & Ors.

Case No: WPA 22150 of 2023/MAT 192 of 2024

The Calcutta High Court has recently stayed an order by a single bench for the immediate transfer of a probe being conducted by the State into the admission of reserved category candidates into medical colleges based on allegedly improperly issued caste certificates to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had initially directed for the probe to be transferred upon observing:

The police of this State have not been able to arrest one culprit Sk. Sajahan in recent Sandeshkhali raid by E.D. who dared to touch the ED officials of this country which means that the Union of India has been touched by some miscreants. Therefore, I cannot place any faith upon such police authority. Therefore, this matter is to be investigated by CBI. Before the State goes to the Hon'ble Supreme Court in connection with this order in appeal, I would expect that the State would disclose what is the total amount that has been spent by it for resisting the orders of this court in respect of CBI investigations by way of appeals and application in Supreme Court in education appointment matters.

Medical Admission Irregularities | Calcutta HC Single-Judge Alleges Misconduct By Judge Who Presided Over Division Bench Which Stayed Order For CBI Probe

Case: Ishita Soren v Union of India

Case No: WPA 22150 of 2023

In an unusual development, a single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay has alleged misconduct by Justice Soumen Sen, who presided over a division bench which stayed the single bench's order for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities during admissions to medical colleges in West Bengal.

On Wednesday, a division bench of Justices Soumen Sen & Uday Kumar had stayed the single bench's order calling for a CBI probe upon noting that such a probe was not sought in the prayers of the original writ petitioners and that the State may be allowed to complete its own investigation and submit its's progress reports.

Due to alleged miscommunication, the order was not communicated to Justice Gangopadhyay by the State on the same date.

Notably, the division bench had asked the High Court Registrar General to submit a report explaining why the division bench's stay order had not been communicated to the single bench in time.

Remarkably, in an order passed yesterday (Thursday), and available on the HC server around midnight, Justice Gangopadhyay has accused Justice Sen of misconduct, and possessing political bias due to his orders staying the CBI probe.

It was noted that the division bench had no power to consider the appeal without a server copy of the single-bench order or memo of appeal.

Justice Gangopadhyay said: No rule has been shown to me that an appeal can be preferred and the order can be passed thereon in this High Court without the impugned order and without the memorandum of appeal. By passing an order without the impugned order and without the memorandum of appeal, the said Division Bench has given a very wrong signal What Justice Sen has done today is to advance the cause of his personal interest to save some political party in power in this State. Therefore, his actions clearly tantamount to misconduct.