The Calcutta High Court refused to halt the foundation stone-laying of a Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad, placing full responsibility for law and order on the West Bengal government. The court noted that both state police and CAPF are adequately deployed to prevent any disturbance.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to stop the construction of a new mosque in Beldanga, Murshidabad, which is designed to resemble Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid. The project has been proposed by suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir.
This order came just one day before the foundation-laying ceremony scheduled for December 6, the anniversary of the demolition of the original Babri Masjid.
A division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that demanded a stay on the event.
The bench said the West Bengal government would be fully responsible for maintaining peace and law and order during the programme. The order was passed after the state informed the court that it had already deployed sufficient police forces to prevent any disturbance.
The central government also told the court that 19 companies of Central Armed Police Force, earlier sent after the communal clashes in Murshidabad in April, were still stationed in the region and ready to act if violence broke out.
The PIL had been filed on Thursday and argued that the foundation ceremony could disturb communal harmony. The petitioner also asked the court to act against Kabir for making provocative comments, claiming that his remarks had already affected peace in the area.
The petition stated:
“The writ petition pertains to stop foundation stone laying of Babri Masjid in Beldanga Block 1, Murshidabad to maintain Law and order… The MLA has been using filthy and derogatory statements and hate speech against a community, which causes breach of public tranquility. Such kind of statements and hate speech over social media and YouTube news portal, being a Member of Legislative Assembly, may break the communal harmony of our state as well as our country.”
After the hearing, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the petitioner’s lawyer, said the court had made it clear that the state must handle any law-and-order issues that arise during the event.
He said,
“We only voiced our apprehension about possible disruption of peace in the region over this programme. We never wanted to stop anyone from practising their faith. Now the state will have to ensure that no disturbance takes place. The Centre, too, has committed CAPF deployment and their forces are conducting route marches for area domination.”
Mukherjee also confirmed that Kabir had given an undertaking in court saying he would not incite violence.
MLA Humayun Kabir welcomed the court’s order and called it a win for constitutional values.
He said,
“The court’s take on the matter proved that he was ‘on the right track’.”
He added that the court recognised it was the state’s responsibility to maintain peace and stated,
“The court has rightly pointed out that it is the duty of the state to maintain law and order. There are multiple police stations in this region and there are a sufficient number of police in the hands of the government to ensure there is no breach of law and order. We, too, will have 2000 volunteers to ensure no untoward incident takes place during the ceremony.”
Kabir also said that a
“40-kilometer stretch between Beherampur and Plassey” would remain “choc-a-block with lakhs of people who will attend the programme” on Saturday afternoon.
TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar commented that the PIL was filed because the petitioner feared possible trouble, but the court saw no need to interfere when the state was capable of handling the situation.
He said that public gatherings always require police permission and stressed that the High Court had only said that the state should decide the best steps to maintain peace.
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To clarify the position, he added that the court did not “allow” the event, but simply stated that law and order decisions rest with the administration.
Kabir has often been in the news for controversial remarks, including those related to internal party matters.
On Thursday, the Trinamool Congress suspended him for engaging in what the party described as “communal politics.” After his suspension, Kabir announced that he would resign as an MLA and launch his own political party later this month.
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