Calcutta High Court Lays Down Guidelines For Suvendu Adhikari's Visit To Pay Homage To Martyrs Of The '2011 Netai Massacre'

The Calcutta High Court has laid down guidelines for Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari's visit to Netai village in order to pay homage to those who lost their lives in the 2011 Netai massacre.

The Court issued these guidelines in a plea seeking directions on the State authorities to allow the LOP and his associates to visit the village and to garland the Shahid Bedi on 7th January 2024.

A single bench of Justice Jay Sengupta held:

The petitioner and the Leader of Opposition, along with the security personnel only, shall be entitled to visit the place for garlanding at the Shahid Bedi and paying homage to the victims on that date between 5 PM and 6 PM. The Administration shall make adequate arrangements by deputing armed personnel so that no untoward incident can take place. It is clarified that taking into consideration the gravity of the occasion, on either dates none of the parties would make it a political issue or indulge in slogan shouting or give political speeches or commit other similar acts.

It was submitted by the petitioners that they had applied to hold the function on the 7th of January 2024 as early as January 2022. However, it was argued that by communication dated 07.12.2023, the Inspector in Charge intimated them that one Netai Sahid Smirti Raksha Committee had already prayed for permission to observe Netai Diwas on 06.01.2024 and 07.01.2024 and permission had already been granted for such function.

Petitioner argued that they and the Leader of Opposition had been paying their respects at Netai for the last 12 years and that Shahid Bedi, the place to pay homage was constructed at the behest of the LOP himself.

Petitioner relied on a coordinate bench decision which held that no permission was required for Indian citizens to go to any part of the country and argued that he would be accompanied by the families of many of the martyrs.

Advocate General for the State submitted that the Committee which had been granted permission to hold the function was persuaded to end their program by 5 pm so that the LOP could visit the Shahid Bedi for garlanding and paying homage. 

Senior Counsel for the Committee argued that they had been carrying on the function for almost 12 years to pay homage to the martyrs and would continue the program till 5 pm after which anyone was free to visit the venue and pay homage. 

Accordingly, in noting that permission had earlier been granted to the LOP for visiting the area, the Court disposed of the plea by laying down guidelines for his visit and held that if necessary, the entire events starting from 06.01.2024 and ending on 07.01.2024 shall be videographed by the police authorities.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 8

Case: Tufan Mahata Versus The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Case No: WPA 54 of 2024

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