Two groups, one Railway ground and 24 hours to mark out space: the Calcutta High Court has settled the Sealdah Division Durga Puja row for the 2026 festival only, while the Athletic Club’s pandal stays.
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Kolkata: Setting aside a Single Judge’s order of 6 October 2026 that had permitted only the Sealdah Railway Athletic Club to hold the Puja on a Railway ground in the Sealdah Division, the Calcutta High Court has allowed the Bharatiya Railway P. Shramik Union (Eastern Railway) to hold Durga Puja there. [Bharatiya Railway P. Shramik Union (E. Rly) & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.]
The appeals were decided on 12 October 2026 by a Division Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Arjun Ray Mukherjee.
“Puja is for citizens”
On the public character of the festival, the Bench said:
Puja is not the private affair of the organizers, but it is for the citizens.
Permission to the union had been withdrawn without a hearing, and without any record of what happened on the day of Khuti Puja, the Court found. The withdrawal order also did not say why only the union’s permission was withdrawn when both groups had initially been allowed to use the ground. The union, the Bench noted, had deposited the required fees.
How the row arose
Both the union, an employees’ union of the Eastern Railway’s Sealdah Division, and the Athletic Club, which has long organised Durga Puja on the ground, had been allowed to use it. The union was even permitted to perform Khuti Puja, which marks the start of Puja preparations. Its permission was withdrawn afterwards, and the union told the Court that the withdrawal order gave no reasons and could not stand in law.
Appearing for the Athletic Club, Advocate Firdous Shamim submitted that the club had organised the Puja at the ground for a long time, that its own Puja could not be cancelled, and that the authorities had already withdrawn the union’s permission. For the Railways, it was said that a dispute broke out between the two groups on the day of Khuti Puja, and that permission was withdrawn for administrative reasons, to control the situation.
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What the Bench ordered
Within 24 hours, the authority must mark out the portion in which the union can perform the Puja, working from the communications received from the advocates for both parties. Since the Athletic Club has already built its pandal, the union is not entitled to an equal share of the ground.
The directions apply to the 2026 Durga Puja alone and create no equity in favour of either party. Both groups must keep the peace and respect each other’s sentiments, and the police are to keep vigil and assist the Railways if needed. All parties must be present at the demarcation and cooperate with the authorities, without raising further objections or approaching the Court on frivolous grounds. The advocates on record for the writ petitions are to act as observers so that the Puja is conducted smoothly.
Case Details: Bharatiya Railway P. Shramik Union (E. Rly) & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors., MAT 1778 of 2026, heard with Bharatiya Railway P. Shramik Union (E. Rly) & Anr. v. Sealdah Railway Athletic Club & Ors., MAT 1781 of 2026; order dated 12 October 2026, arising from the Single Judge’s order of 6 October 2026 in WPA 27755 of 2026 and WPA 28862 of 2026.
Appearances: For the Sealdah Railway Athletic Club, Advocate Firdous Shamim. Counsel for the union and the Railways are not named in the available material.
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