The Calcutta High Court has directed its registrar to inspect the court premises and submit a report after a lawyer alleged that members of a particular religious community are permitted to offer prayers on the rooftop every Friday. The division bench said the report must be filed by October 12.
The direction was issued during a hearing on a public interest litigation seeking permission to organise Durga Puja at the High Court. The case was heard by Chief Justice Rabindra V. Ghuge and Justice Om Narayan Rai.
The bench had earlier expressed displeasure over the public interest petition and rejected the application after questioning the basis of the plea. During Wednesday’s hearing, however, the petitioner’s lawyer, Sanjay Ghosh, raised a broader question concerning religious neutrality within the court complex.
According to the report, Ghosh argued that the Constitution provides equal rights to people of all religions to practise their faith while maintaining the secular character of the state. He alleged that this principle was not being followed within the Calcutta High Court because a particular community had been allowed to pray on the rooftop every Friday.
The bench then asked whether prayers were in fact authorised on the High Court rooftop and whether any religious community conducts prayers there. Rather than accepting the allegation as established, the court directed the High Court registrar to visit the premises and verify the situation on the ground.
The registrar’s inspection is expected to establish whether prayers take place on the rooftop, whether any permission exists, and what administrative arrangement, if any, governs such use of the court premises. The source report does not state that the court has reached a finding on the allegation.
The proceedings place the management of a constitutional institution’s physical space under judicial scrutiny. The immediate issue before the bench is not a final determination on religious practice at the premises, but the factual verification of what occurs there and whether it is formally permitted.
The matter is now linked to the registrar’s report, which the bench has ordered to be submitted by October 12. Further consideration of the issue will depend on the findings recorded after the inspection.
