TT, Calcutta, Sept. 9: The high court today adjourned to September 26 a hearing of the contempt petition demanding action against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for observing a bandh in violation of an earlier order.
The case was deferred after government pleader, Ashok Banerjee, had informed the division bench of Chief Justice A.K. Mishra and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the Morcha had already filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the high court order passed on August 24.
The Morcha had been asked to pay compensation for the damages caused by the closure in the August 24 order.
The high court division bench, however, asked the Morcha to file an affidavit on September 26, clarifying why contempt proceedings should not be taken against it for observing the bandh even after the ban order. The Morcha was also asked to file a separate affidavit stating its views on the state’s claim that it had suffered a loss of Rs 69.16 crore in August because of the bandh.
ENS: West Bengal government Monday sought Rs 70 crore in damages from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) for losses caused to the public and private property during its ongoing agitation in Darjeeling hills for a separate state. Seeking immediate directions to the GJM "to pay a compensation of Rs 70 crore to the state as well as to the public who suffered losses", government pleader Ashoke Banerjee Monday submitted a report in the Calcutta High Court.
Banerjee also urged the court to direct GJM president Bimal Gurung to appear in the court.
However, the GJM counsel informed the bench that the Morcha has moved a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the August 14 order of the high court on maintenance of normalcy in the hills.
The apex court has fixed the matter for hearing on September 16, the GJM counsel said. Following the submission, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi adjourned the hearing in the matter till September 26 and directed all the parties to file affidavits in the meantime, stating their position on a PIL that the Morcha has violated the high court's order.
On August 14, the high court had said that "bandh (called by the GJM in the hills) is clearly illegal and violative of fundamental rights, including right to live, of the residents of hilly areas." "It is a fit case where the court should determine the liability of the persons who should compensate the people," the court had said, while directing Gurung to submit an affidavit explaining why the GJM should not be asked to compensate for the damages due to the illegal bandh."
On Monday, Gurung's counsel Avijit Basu sought another four weeks to place the affidavit. The bench, however, directed him to file it before the next hearing.
The government pleader, meanwhile, submitted that GJM-called bandh began on July 29 and has continued in the guise of "janta curfew and ghar bhitri janta to give an impression that it is a popular movement."
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