A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday quashed a single bench order of Thursday that allowed the BJP to carry out three Rath Yatras in through various parts of West Bengal. The single-judge bench order was challenged by chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led government. The division bench said the order needs to consider afresh the intelligence inputs submitted by the state government before the single bench that raised apprehensions of a law and order situation.

Advocate General Kishore Dutta, representing the state, said that the single bench had not considered the intelligence inputs submitted to it in a sealed cover and had returned it to him without even opening it. He had submitted intelligence inputs from 31 police districts and five police commisionerates before the bench, which he said talked about the apprehension of communal unrest if the BJP’s proposed roadshows were allowed.

A single bench presided by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty yesterday set aside the denial of permission for the rallies by a panel of three senior most officers of the state government. The court allowed the BJP to hold rallies on December 22, 24 and 26.

The West Bengal government, however, challenged the ruling before a division bench of Chief Justice Debasish Kargupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar, which has now quashed the earlier ruling and sent the case back to the single-judge bench. In its appeal, the government expressed urgency and sought immediate hearing of the matter.

On December 6, a single judge bench of the HC had refused permission to the BJP to hold the ‘Rath Yatra’, which was scheduled to be flagged off by BJP chief Amit Shah from Cooch Behar in North Bengal on December 7. The party had then approached the division bench.

—India Legal Bureau