The Calcutta High Court division bench has stopped the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from setting up a bookstall outside its party office in Bongaon and directed that roadside stalls without permission be removed.
The order came during a hearing on Friday after the West Bengal government challenged an earlier order of a single-judge bench. The division bench, led by Chief Justice Rabindra V. Ghuge, also refused to allow the proposed bookstall to operate with only a table and umbrella.
The case concerns a proposed CPM bookstall near the party office in Bongaon. During the hearing, CPM lawyer Shamim Ahmed told the court that the party had sent emails seeking permission from the Public Works Department and the highways authority. He also said the police had been informed about the application.
The bench questioned whether the bookstall was located on the road or aligned with other roadside stalls. In response, the CPM’s lawyer said it was in front of the party office and positioned in the same line as other stalls. The court also asked whether it was placed higher or further onto the road compared with other stalls.
The government’s Additional Advocate General, Bilwadal Bhattacharya, said it was not known whether the other stalls had the necessary permissions. The Chief Justice said the law had to apply equally and observed that the court would direct the removal of roadside stalls. The bench’s stated position was that stalls could not operate without permission.
The legal dispute followed a single-bench order by Justice Saugata Bhattacharya, which the CPM lawyer said had made a similar observation on roadside stalls and permissions. The state’s law officer questioned how a bookstall could be allowed without authorisation.
The CPM sought temporary permission to operate the stall during the Durga Puja period, saying only three or four days remained before the festival. Its lawyer proposed that the stall function without a loudspeaker or microphone and later narrowed the request to a five-foot-long table with an umbrella and no permanent canopy.
The court rejected that proposal as well. During the hearing, the state referred to the presence of the officer-in-charge of Bongaon police station and said the proposed stall was about six kilometres from the Bangladesh border. The division bench then directed that even a table and umbrella could not be used to operate the bookstall.
The immediate dispute highlights the administrative question faced by roadside commerce and temporary public-space uses: whether an activity can continue while permission applications are pending. In this case, the court’s direction covered not only the CPM’s proposed stall but also unauthorised roadside stalls more broadly, according to the report of the proceedings.
The court has said that notices will be issued to all parties connected with the case. The next hearing is scheduled for January 21.
