The Calcutta High Court has ordered West Bengal to reveal within 48 hours how Durga Puja clubs spent state grants. Judges questioned why funds were given despite many committees failing to submit accounts.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday raised tough questions before the West Bengal Government regarding the Durga Puja grants being given to clubs across the state. The bench wanted to know how many puja committees had actually submitted their expenditure accounts after taking government money, and what steps had been taken against those who failed to do so.
The Division Bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Smita Das De directed the state government to provide within 48 hours the full details of accounts submitted by the clubs that had received financial assistance in previous years.
The judges also asked the state to file an affidavit stating clearly what action it had taken against the clubs that did not give utilisation certificates.
The Court posed a pointed question to the state authorities saying,
“Why would grants be given even if they have not submitted expenditure accounts?”
The case goes back to 2020, when a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed challenging the state government’s decision to give money to puja committees. It all began in 2019, when the West Bengal government announced that each Durga Puja club would receive Rs 25,000.
In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the grant was not stopped but instead doubled to Rs 50,000 per club. This led to objections and a petition was filed before the High Court.
The PIL was filed by Saurabh Dutta, a resident of Durgapur. He argued through his lawyers Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Shamim Ahmed that government funds were being misused. According to them, the government was distributing taxpayers’ money to puja committees without proper accountability.
The state government, however, had defended its move. Its lawyers submitted that the grant was not for misuse but to be spent for the public good.
The government said that police departments had also used the grant to spread awareness under the ‘Safe Drive Save Life’ campaign. It was further explained that part of the money was used to ensure Covid-19 restrictions during the pandemic years.
Following this, the High Court had earlier ordered that puja committees must provide utilisation accounts showing how they spent the government grants.
This year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently announced that the grant would be increased again, this time to Rs 1 lakh 10 thousand for each puja club. This increase has once more revived the legal challenge.
On Monday, Advocate General Kishore Datta appeared before the Division Bench and submitted that the High Court had never struck down the state’s decision to provide grants.
He requested the court to list the matter for hearing only after the Durga Puja. Datta argued that the state would then be in a better position to place its affidavit.
However, Justice Sujoy Paul was not convinced with this request. He sharply questioned the delay, asking,
“What is the relevance of this case after Durga Puja?”
The bench noted that the matter was important before the festival itself because once pujas are over, the main purpose of the petition would lose significance.
The judge underlined that the court has already asked the clubs several times to provide proper utilisation accounts but those details have not yet been shared. He stressed that if the state wants to act against the defaulters, the action must be initiated before the puja festival.
The Division Bench remarked,
“What importance will this petition have if it is heard after the pujas? It has been stated in the petition that many clubs were not submitting accounts despite recurrent orders from the high court to submit utilisation accounts. Therefore, if the court intends to take steps in this regard, it has to be before the pujas.”
The petitioners alleged that many clubs have still not given their expenditure statements for previous years even though they continued to receive grants.
The High Court has therefore ordered the state government to submit a full affidavit, along with complete details of the income and expenditure related to the clubs that got donations.
The case will now come up for the next hearing on Wednesday.
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