A shortage of ₹10 and ₹20 stamp papers in West Bengal has prompted a public interest litigation petition in the Calcutta High Court, with the petitioner alleging that more than 25,000 papers were withdrawn from the market and sent to police stations without following mandatory legal and registration procedures.
The petition was filed by Surajit Mondal, who has sought directions to prevent the police from using stamp papers in the alleged manner and to order the seizure of the papers concerned. A hearing was expected before the division bench headed by Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Justice Rabindra V. Ghuge on Tuesday, according to the report.
The shortage is reportedly affecting people who require low-value stamp papers for official and legal purposes. The report does not specify the duration of the shortage, the number of affected vendors or whether alternative denominations are available in the market.
According to the petitioner’s allegations, authorised stamp-paper vendors received an unwritten instruction from the administration. Following that direction, more than 25,000 stamp papers were allegedly removed from circulation and sent to police stations across the state.
The petitioner further alleged that ordinary Trinamool Congress workers were taken to their homes, where they were made to sign stamp papers. The report does not provide responses from the police, the state administration or the vendors named in the allegations. It also does not report any finding by the High Court on whether the alleged collection or use of the stamp papers took place.
The legal issue raised in the petition concerns the control and traceability of stamp papers. The petitioner said that the withdrawal of such papers must follow specific legal requirements and that each stamp paper is subject to registration. The allegation before the court is that the papers were collected without registration and without compliance with the applicable legal process.
The case places a routine administrative instrument within a wider question of public accountability: when official documents are withdrawn from circulation or used by state agencies, the process must remain traceable to protect both public access and the validity of documents. The immediate next step is the court’s consideration of the petition and the reliefs sought by the applicant.
