Licensed vendors only, and every sale in a register: the Calcutta High Court wants the State to show that it is following those rules, in a PIL alleging that stamp papers are being fraudulently issued to gather signatures for the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress. The State questions whether the PIL can be heard at all and has asked for time to reply.
Kolkata: Asked by the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday to demonstrate that it abides by the rules on stamp papers, the State of West Bengal faces a Public Interest Litigation that alleges the State, along with police and other authorities, is fraudulently distributing stamp papers and pressing Trinamool Congress members and others to sign in support of the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee [Surajit Mondal v. State of West Bengal and Others].
Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, sitting as a Division Bench, took up the petition of Surajit Mondal, an elected member of the Zilla Parishad in Hooghly. What the petition alleges is the petitioner’s contention; the Court has not examined it and has expressed no view on the merits.
The petitioner’s case
As the petition puts it, the State’s upper echelons directed local authorities across West Bengal to hand out stamp papers unlawfully. Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, appearing for the petitioner, contended that lakhs of stamp papers went out without serialised entries in the appropriate registers. The petitioner wants the Court to call for a State report on stamp paper entries in the required sub-registries.
What the Bench said to the State
For the State, an objection was raised on maintainability, along with a request for time to take instructions from the departments concerned and file a detailed reply. The Bench noted that only licensed vendors may sell stamp papers and that each sale has to be entered in the register. It then asked the State to show whether it was complying, in these words:
Show us whether you are doing this.
The State may file its specific maintainability objections together with its reply, properly paginated. Maintainability has not yet been argued at length. The matter will next be listed on December 11.
The party split in the background
The PIL has its roots in a dispute inside the Trinamool Congress. Ritabrata Banerjee, whom the West Bengal Assembly Speaker has recognised as Leader of Opposition, separated earlier this year from the faction led by Mamata Banerjee. His faction says it is the real TMC because more MLAs back it, and it seeks the party symbol now held by the Mamata Banerjee faction. The Election Commission of India has the question of which faction is the real party before it. Signatures on stamp papers are said to matter to showing which side has greater numbers, so the outcome could bear on that dispute.
For now
No finding has been recorded on the allegations, and the State’s objection on maintainability is yet to be decided. What the hearing shows is a Bench that insists on licensing and register requirements for stamp paper sales and is ready to ask the State to demonstrate compliance, while the dispute over the party’s name and symbol stays with the Election Commission of India.
Case Title: Surajit Mondal v. State of West Bengal and Others (case number not available)
Bench: Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, Calcutta High Court
Date of Hearing: October 20, 2026
Next Listing: December 11, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, with Advocates Suman Sengupta, Anit Kumar Das, Ashish Dutta and Rahul Kumar Singh, for the petitioner; Government Pleader DN Ray, with Advocates Anindya Basu, Pradip Mukherjee, Indradeep Pal and Bikash Kumar Sriwastav, for the State