The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to grant any relief on a plea filed in the case of alleged display of shoes in a Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata.

A single-judge bench of Justice Kausik Chanda passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Santanu Singha @ Santanu Sinha. The grievance of the petitioner relates to an alleged display of shoes at a Puja pandal by one Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra Club, respondents, during the Durga Puja festival.

The petitioner submitted that by displaying shoes in the Puja pandal, utter disrespect has been shown to the Goddess Durga and it has hurt the religious sentiment of the people of West Bengal.

S.N. Mookerjee, Advocate General appeared for the respondents, submitted that the shoes have been displayed only in the thematic part of the relevant pandal, which has been decorated with shoes as a symbol of protest by the farmers, and in the sanctum sanctorum, there has been no display of any shoes.

The Advocate General further submitted that a distance of about 11 feet has been maintained between the said thematic part of the pandal and the part where the Goddess is being worshipped.

He also submitted that a case has already been registered on the basis of a complaint under Sections 153A/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code by Lake Town Police Station for alleged display of shoes by the said club.

The petition suggests that the petitioner came to know about such displays of shoes from social media. He did not visit the pandal physically.

“At this ad-interim stage, I am not inclined to pass any order on this application for removal of the shoes since such order may amount to grant of the final relief,” the court said. The Lake Town Police Station will file a report on the next date of hearing, October 25, with regard to the progress of investigation of the aforesaid case, the court ordered.

New Delhi (ILNS): The Calcutta High Court today eased its order which declared that Durga Puja pandals were “no-entry zones” for visitors in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The court has now allowed entry of up to 45 people after 400 top Durga Puja organisers in the state capital appealed for a review of the earlier order.

The court in its order said that not more than 45 people will be allowed inside bigger pandals, while for smaller pandals, the number of maximum persons allowed will be 15.

“For the larger pujas (Pandals must be more than 300 sq m) the maximum number of persons to be included in the prior list is 60. But not more than 45 are to be present at any point of time,” observed the court. 

The decision came after the organisers approached the court yesterday as part of the Durgotsav Forum, an umbrella body of Durga Puja organisers.

The court, however, refused to pass any order on appeals by Kalyan Banerjee, who appeared for the organizers, to allow two important rituals – anjali and sindoor khela.

In its earlier order, issued on Monday, the court hadput a cap on the number of organisers allowed inside: 25 for big pandals and 15 for the smaller ones. The order further stated that only the organizers can enter pandals, while name of those allowed to enter pandals should be displayed outside.

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The court order also allowed dhakis, or traditional drum players, to perform in “a limited number”, just outside the no-entry zone at each pandal and added that the “list of persons allowed should be fixed on daily basis.” These lists will be put outside the pandals every day at 8 am.

The five- day Durga Puja festival is set has already started. Today is Panchami.

New Delhi (ILNS): The Supreme Court has ordered an interim stay on the Orissa High Court order of banning animal sacrifice during Chhatar Yatra in the Kalahandi district.

The bench of Chief Justice S. A. Bobde, Justice A. S. Bopanna and Justice V. Ramasubramanian passed the order while hearing the petition filed by Bhawani Shanker Nial against the High Court judgment seeking interim direction to perform the sacrifice ritual.

The High Court, in its order on January 6, had imposed a ban on sacrifice of animals and birds in and around the precincts of Maa Manikeshwari temple at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district during the festival.

The petition mentioned that the petitioner in the case is not a resident of Kalahandi district and has no knowledge of Chatar Yatra.

“The PIL sought to interfere with the age-old customs and religious beliefs of the people of Kalahandi,” said the petition.

Chhatar Jatra is a traditional festival and ritual practice celebrated by the people of Kalahandi district every year during the Mahastami of Durga puja festival. The chatar of Goddess Manikeswari, after rituals at Jenakhal on the outskirts of the town, is brought back to the temple in a procession. Devotees, then sacrifice animals to appease the deity.

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Last month, the district administration had also stated that there will be no animal sacrifice during the Yatra or congregation of devotees at the temple. 

-ILNS