The Calcutta High Court’s division bench has declined an urgent hearing request in a case challenging the redrawing of Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards, leaving no immediate judicial obstacle to the announcement of the Kolkata municipal election schedule.
The plea was moved by Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Dipu Das, a resident of Kasba, after a single-judge bench declined to stay the notification on the ward reorganisation. The division bench of Justice Arindam Mukhopadhyay and Justice Arjun Ray Mukhopadhyay did not agree to hear the matter on an urgent basis on Monday.
The case concerns the West Bengal government’s notification increasing the number of Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards from 144 to 209. The notification was issued on September 11. The reorganisation was carried out after a change in government in the state, according to the report by Anandabazar.
Das has alleged that the ward boundaries were not redrawn using reasonable and consistent criteria. His petition questions whether population, geographical location and administrative compatibility were adequately considered while creating the new wards. He has also challenged the overall rationality of the delimitation and alleged that the exercise was intended to benefit a particular political party.
The petitioner has further argued that the municipal commissioner did not have the legal authority to recommend the ward reorganisation. The court has been asked to examine the validity of the notification and the process used to redraw the municipal boundaries.
The case was first heard by Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya in the single-judge bench. The petitioner had sought an interim stay on the ward delimitation notification. The court refused to issue such an order, observing that the petitioner had not raised objections when the draft ward arrangement was published.
On October 29, the single-judge bench sought affidavits from all parties. The next hearing before that bench is scheduled after a month, according to the report. The refusal to issue an interim direction prompted the petitioner to approach the division bench seeking an accelerated hearing.
Advocate Shamim Ahmed, appearing for the petitioner, told the division bench that the Kolkata municipal election schedule could be announced at any time. He argued that once the election process began, the legal challenge could lose practical significance and therefore required immediate consideration.
The division bench, however, noted that the case had already been admitted by the single-judge bench. It said the petitioner would retain the opportunity to approach the court at every stage if an election was announced. The bench therefore found no immediate need to place the matter before an urgent vacation bench during the Puja break.
The order does not determine whether the ward reorganisation is legally valid. It only means that the division bench has not granted the request for an accelerated hearing at this stage. The challenge before the single-judge bench, including the questions over population balance, geography, administrative coherence and the municipal commissioner’s authority, remains pending.
