The Supreme Court criticised the West Bengal government for delaying the Kolkata Metro project and creating unnecessary roadblocks. The Court said development projects for the common man must not be politicised and ordered timely completion under High Court monitoring.
The Supreme Court on Monday strongly criticised the West Bengal government for creating obstacles in the ongoing construction of a Kolkata Metro corridor project. The Court said that the project is a development work meant for the common people and should not be delayed for political reasons.
The Court also refused to accept the plea filed by the West Bengal government and directed the Calcutta High Court to continue monitoring the progress of the project to ensure that it is completed on time.
The bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi expressed serious concern over the delay caused by the state authorities. The Court observed that the High Court had already given sufficient time and directions to the state government, but the authorities failed to comply with the orders.
The Chief Justice made strong remarks while addressing the counsel for the West Bengal government and said,
“We are only pointing out that the high court has been very magnanimous to you (state government). This was a fit case where your chief secretary, DGP and other authorities should have been subjected to some action. This shows complete dereliction of your constitutional duty. You are running away from your responsibilities. This is just an attempt to politicise an issue where there is no such issue. We would not appreciate the state government politicising a developmental issue, which is beneficial for the common man,”
The Chief Justice further stated,
“We must not politicise everything. This is a developmental issue. It is a facility for the common man. Don’t create roadblocks.”
During the hearing, the state government’s counsel argued that the state was currently under the Model Code of Conduct due to upcoming elections and that board examinations were also taking place, which made it difficult to allow roadblocks required for the construction work.
However, the Supreme Court pointed out that the Calcutta High Court had passed its order on December 23, 2025, and questioned the delay by the state government since then.
The Court asked,
“What prevented the state government from complying with the directions since then?”
Justice Joymalya Bagchi also made important observations during the hearing and said that the Election Commission of India would not object to a development project that had already started before the Model Code of Conduct came into force.
He criticised the state government for prioritising other matters over development work and said,
“For you, festivals are more important than development. It is not that you are willing, you are duty-bound. You told the high court that you have festivals to take care of. Is a festival more important than the construction of a transport artery?
“We do not appreciate a democratically elected government knocking on the door of the court and asking for this to be ignored. The Election Commission will not have a difficulty in allowing the project. This was a project launched before the commencement of the model code of conduct. We will not allow the state to use this as a bogey to stall development again,”
The state government also argued that the construction work would require blocking certain roads which are used by ambulances and emergency vehicles, and therefore more time was required. The counsel requested the Court to grant time until May to comply with the High Court’s order. However, the Supreme Court refused to grant more time and said that it would dismiss the appeal filed by the state government against the High Court’s order dated December 23, 2025.
The Supreme Court made strong observations regarding the conduct of the authorities and said,
“This merely exhibits the obstinate attitude of the authorities, wherein they want to delay and stall the Metro rail project in Kolkata. There was no infirmity in the order passed by the high court; we are sure that the project is completed in a time-bound manner.”
Earlier, on December 23, 2025, the Calcutta High Court had expressed concern over the delay in completion of the Metro project connecting the IT hub of Sector V in Salt Lake with large parts of South Kolkata. The delay was mainly due to the issue of permission for roadblocks at the busy Chingrighata crossing on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
The High Court had directed that the construction work must be completed by February 15, 2026. It also directed the state authorities to inform Metro Railway by January 6 regarding which three days traffic block would be allowed so that the remaining overhead Metro construction work could be completed.
According to the petitioners in the PIL, most of the work for the Metro line connecting Kavi Subhash with Sector V has already been completed, but the construction work at the Chingrighata crossing has been pending for a long time due to lack of permission for roadblocks, which ultimately delayed the completion of the entire project meant for public transportation and public benefit.
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