Trinamool Billboard row: Mamata Banerjee-led faction approaches Calcutta HC

The Trinamool Congress approached the Calcutta High Court over the removal of an alleged illegal billboard from Abhishek Banerjee’s Camac Street office. Tensions erupted during the removal, with clashes involving police and party workers, prompting the party to seek urgent judicial intervention

Kolkata: The faction in the Trinamool Congress led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday approached a special single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court in connection with the row over the removal of an illegal billboard from the roof of the party’s MP Abhishek Banerjee’s office on Camac Street in Central Kolkata.

Trinamool Congress’ counsel Kishore Dutta, the former advocate general of West Bengal, drew the court’s attention to the matter.

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The special single-judge bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury gave permission to file a case in the matter. However, a decision on Trinamool’s plea for a hearing on an urgent basis on Friday is pending. The petitioner’s counsel informed Justice Basu Chowdhury’s bench that on Thursday at 4:45 p.m, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) staff went to the said Camac Street office and started dismantling the billboard.

Dutta also informed the court that the office of the Calcutta High Court’s Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakrabarty was informed about the matter on Thursday and the latter asked the petitioner to draw the attention of Justice Basu Chowdhury’s single-judge bench.

After that, Trinamool Congress counsel requested the bench to hear the case as soon as possible on an urgent basis. However, Justice Chowdhury asked the Trinamool Congress counsel to first register the case and approach his bench with the case number.

The judge also observed that he would not be able to hear the matter until the case number was available. Justice Chowdhury also said that a hearing in the matter will be conducted on Friday but only after the case number was available.

He also asked the petitioner to inform other parties in the case, namely KMC and Kolkata Police, about the matter. On Thursday, tension broke out on Camac Street after KMC officials, accompanied by Kolkata Police personnel, reached the office of Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member and also the nephew of Mamata Banerjee, to remove an illegal billboard.

The billboard was removed ultimately after two rounds of scuffles between the cops and Trinamool Congress activists. On Thursday, Abhishek informed that he would approach the Calcutta High Court in the matter.