Supreme Court asks Calcutta HC to decide TMC's plea against removal of its name board

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea moved by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in connection with the removal of a name board from its Camac Street office in Kolkata.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India(CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said that the contentions made in the plea be raised before the Calcutta High Court where a petition moved by the political party is already pending.

"The parties are granted liberty to raise their respective contentions before the High Court. We request the High Court to determine all the issues that arise for consideration expeditiously," the Court said.

According to media reports, officials of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials along with the police recently entered the TMC office on Camac Street and removed a billboard bearing the party’s name from the top of the building.

TMC had earlier moved the Calcutta High Court against the action but failed to secure any interim relief. It then approached the top court.

Today, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, submitted that the High Court has already declared that the party has no case since removal has already taken place. He added that no notice was issued before the action was undertaken by municipal authorities.

"The High Court says that no cause of action survives because the signboard has already been removed," Sibal said.

However, CJI Kant remarked that the case still survives.

"Merely because it has been removed does not mean that your grievance has been satisfied. If your claim is accepted, the High Court will have to grant you liberty to raise the issue," the Court said.

Sibal submitted that the party was seeking restoration of the billboard. He added that the party had immediately moved the High Court when it heard about the proposed action.

He added that the matter may be sent back to the High Court.

"This is a registered political party. Its name was displayed on the building and was removed without notice. A commercial establishment’s name would not be removed in this manner. But my name was removed, and when I approached the High Court, it said that since the removal had already taken place, nothing could be done," Sibal said.

The Supreme Court agreed that the High Court can be asked to re-consider the issues and asked the High Court to decide the same expeditiously.

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