Calcutta HC seeks affidavits from Mamata, Abhishek in rally contempt case

The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to file affidavits in a contempt case linked to the party’s Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata last year.

The order was passed by a division bench of justice Arijit Banerjee and justice Apurba Sinha Roy while hearing a petition alleging that the Trinamool Congress had violated an earlier high court order during its annual rally on 21 July 2025.

The contempt proceedings stem from a notice issued by the same bench on 19 June to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. The petition before the court alleges that the Martyrs’ Day programme was held in a manner that breached a 2018 high court ruling prohibiting political parties from blocking major or important road junctions in Kolkata during rallies or public meetings.

At Friday’s hearing, the bench directed all parties in the case, including the two Trinamool leaders, to file their affidavits before the matter is taken up again in August.

The 2018 order, passed by an earlier division bench of justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and justice Arijit Banerjee, had laid down restrictions on political rallies in Kolkata to prevent disruption to traffic and public movement. It had specified that no political gathering should completely block key junctions in the city and that part of the road must remain open for pedestrians and vehicles.

The earlier bench had also stressed that ambulances and other emergency services must be allowed free passage and, where necessary, traffic should be diverted through alternative routes. It had further directed the police to publicise diversion plans in advance and warned that legal action would follow in cases involving vandalism, excessive noise or violence during political events.

The present petition claims that these directions were ignored during the Trinamool Congress’ Martyrs’ Day rally on 21 July last year, particularly at Esplanade in central Kolkata, where an important junction was allegedly fully blocked, causing major inconvenience to the public.

The matter will now come up for further hearing after the affidavits are filed.

With IANS inputs