West Bengal govt moves HC against fencing at Poush Mela ground

A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Shampa Sarkar said that it will consider the prayer of the state government on Wednesday when the matter will be heard again. The bench said that it will also consider Advocate General Kishore Dutta's desire to be excluded from the court- appointed committee on the next date of hearing.

The West Bengal government on Tuesday prayed before the Calcutta High Court for a stay on a decision by a court-appointed committee allowing fencing of the Poush Mela ground at Shantiniketan, even as the state's advocate general expressed his desire to be excluded from the panel. Visva-Bharati authorities started erecting a fence around the ground on Monday following a direction by the committee, which includes two sitting judges of the high court.

Incidents of violence and vandalism had occurred on August 17 over the Visva-Bharati's attempt to construct a boundary wall around the Poush Mela ground. Additional advocate general Abhratosh Majumdar, representing the state government, prayed for a stay on setting up the fencing and claimed that there was unrest among the local people who are averse to it.

The court said that it is the duty of the police machinery to uphold law and order and rule of law has to be maintained by its keepers. A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Shampa Sarkar said that it will consider the prayer of the state government on Wednesday when the matter will be heard again.

The bench said that it will also consider Advocate General Kishore Dutta's desire to be excluded from the court- appointed committee on the next date of hearing. The committee, appointed to find out ways and means for appropriate resolution of issues relating to Visva- Bharati, is headed by Justice Sanjib Banerjee and has Justice Arijit Banerjee as one of its members, along with the advocate general and the additional solicitor general of the Union government.

The bench said that the heritage and history of Rabindra Tagore's Shantiniketan, of which the Poush Mela has become a part, have to be preserved. The court had on the last date of hearing on September 18 directed that the matter will be treated as a suo moto public interest litigation in view of the importance of the "great institution" founded and carried forward by Gurudev Tagore.

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