A reported attempt to remove a temporary bookstall planned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) area committee near Jadavpur Super Market has led to a petition before the Calcutta High Court, with the matter likely to come up before the court’s vacation bench on Monday, October 19.
According to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata, the proposed stall was to be set up in front of Jadavpur Super Market, below Indian Coffee House, during the Durga Puja period. The organisers planned to operate it from October 13 to October 22 and sell Marxist, progressive and children’s books.
The planned stall was approximately 20 feet by 16 feet. The petitioner, Rajdeep Sarkar, said in the case that an application seeking permission had been submitted to the relevant department of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on September 19. The Jadavpur police station was informed in writing on September 20, according to the report.
The petition also refers to the payment of Rs 3,200 in municipal tax. The organisers further claimed that emails were sent to the Kolkata Police joint commissioner and police commissioner on October 8 regarding the proposed stall.
Despite these steps, the petitioner alleged that a person identifying himself as a Kolkata Municipal Corporation official arrived at the site at about 6.30pm on October 17 with a police contingent and a bulldozer. The person allegedly attempted to remove the bookstall, prompting the organisers to seek the High Court’s intervention.
The reported dispute places a temporary commercial and cultural installation within the city’s wider system of permissions, policing and the use of public-facing urban spaces. The available report does not establish whether the municipal permission application was formally approved, rejected or still pending before the alleged removal attempt. It also does not provide a response from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation or Kolkata Police to the allegations.
The petition was filed by the CPI(M) area committee through Rajdeep Sarkar. The case was expected to be heard by Justice Partha Pratim Ray during the High Court’s Puja vacation sitting on Monday. The court’s proceedings and any directions issued will determine the immediate status of the proposed bookstall and clarify the administrative basis for the action alleged by the petitioner.
