Post Poll Violence: Calcutta High Court Allows BJP Leader Suvendu Adhikari To Stage Protest Outside Raj Bhavan

The Calcutta High Court has allowed BJP Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, to hold a protest outside the Raj Bhavan premises over the alleged post-poll violence which has taken place in West Bengal in the aftermath of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

A single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha allowed the proposed protest meeting by the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after earlier expressing reservations regarding the venue of the protest and asking them to select an alternative venue. 

According to the court, Adhikari and his functionaries have been allowed to stage a protest outside the West Bengal governor's residence between 10am and 4pm on 14th July (Sunday). The Court also set a limit of 300 attendees for the protest.

The verdict comes after Suvendu Adhikari argued that the State police had given permission to the ruling dispensation of the state to picket outside the Raj Bhavan in the previous years, but was not allowing those from a rival political party to do the same. 

It was stated that even though they had applied for permission in the prescribed format within the stipulated time, the police refused to grant them permission, citing Section 144 CrPC orders which are in force in the area around the Raj Bhavan. 

Case: SUVENDU ADHIKARI VS THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS.

Case No: WPA/15915/2024