Kolkata’s 108-year-old Bagbazar Sarbojanin Durga Puja will proceed after the Calcutta High Court upheld the validity of the committee formation process and dismissed a challenge to the election procedure, ending a weeks-long dispute over control of the community festival.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya dismissed a petition filed by committee member Rabi Sankar Sengupta, who had challenged the process followed to form the committee organising this year’s Puja. The judge stressed that the festival should not be disrupted by internal differences and said during the hearing, “Why are you quarrelling? Let the Puja be held.”
The dispute followed an August election in which 66 of the committee’s 77 members voted. The election resulted in ties for five posts, including that of general secretary. Two observers appointed by the city civil court supervised the process.
A section of members subsequently challenged the decision of the other faction to allow the committee president to cast a decisive vote. Lawyers for the petitioner argued that the president could cast one decisive vote, rather than five, and asked the court to determine the extent of that power. The High Court rejected the petition in its order on Tuesday.
Goutam Neogy, the Puja committee’s secretary, said the 14-member committee would meet twice. The first meeting will decide the president and vice-president for this year, while the second will assign responsibilities and co-opt three general members. The committee will also invite the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to nominate a representative in accordance with the organisation’s constitution.
The first meeting is expected within a day or two, Neogy said, leaving the organisers with limited time before Durga Puja, scheduled from October 16 to 21. The Puja will retain its traditional sabeki format, including an ekchala Durga idol. The pandal is planned as a replica of the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in New Jersey.
The internal dispute had also triggered allegations of outside political influence. Neogy alleged that a former Trinamool Congress councillor, now said to be close to the BJP, had attempted to gain control of the committee by inducting supporters. Bapi Ghosh, the former councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Ward 7, denied the allegation and said he was not a member of the committee’s general council and therefore had no role in its elections.
Ghosh said the dispute reflected tensions within the committee and alleged that claims against him were intended to divert attention from questions about the general secretary’s long tenure. The supplied report does not indicate any court finding on the political allegations.
Bagbazar Sarbojanin is among Kolkata’s oldest community Pujas. Initially known as Nebubagan Baroyari Durga Puja, it was permanently renamed Bagbazar Sarbojanin Durgotsav in 1930. Its traditional idol, the surrounding ghats, Mayer Bari and nearby Kumartuli have made the area an important part of Kolkata’s cultural landscape.
Art historian Tapati Guha Thakurta, who prepared the dossier that helped Kolkata’s Durga Puja secure inclusion on Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage list, described Bagbazar as distinctive for maintaining its traditional idol style. She said the Puja had not adopted the realistic idol form seen at several other large celebrations and remained associated with the area’s older cultural traditions.
With the court challenge now dismissed, the committee’s immediate task is to complete its internal appointments and allocate responsibilities before the festival begins. The organisers’ next formal step is the first committee meeting, which is expected to take place within the next few days.
