The rally planned for Friday was meant to be an ordinary foundation day celebration, to be conducted within the stipulations set by the court.
An FIR has been filed suo motu against the erstwhile Chief Minister of West Bengal and TMCP leader Mamata Banerjee, along with organizers of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), for contravening the terms laid down by the Calcutta High Court for the celebration program of their foundation day.
Filing of FIR at Hastings Police Station following the celebration on August 28 at Cathedral Road in Kolkata.
It is pertinent to note that the Calcutta High Court had not banned the rally; it had actually granted permission, subject to some terms and conditions.
The Calcutta High Court gave permission for the foundation day programme of TMCP but directed the organizers to maintain an open flank on the road for the purpose of movement of vehicles and general public. The court also set a time limit for the rally, which was supposed to take place from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
The police claim that most of these conditions were not fulfilled during the course of the rally.
The difference between the court’s order and the implementation of the event is at the heart of the case against Banerjee and the organizers of the event.
It was claimed by the police that the program caused obstruction to a road flank, exceeded the allowed duration of time, and included people pushing barriers and struggling with security guards.
As it was reported, the road flank was not maintained as open, causing total obstruction to the flow of traffic; as a result, both the roads were obstructed for some considerable time after the program started—which led to tremendous traffic congestion, according to the police. The program itself exceeded the court-fixed 3 p.m. deadline.
The FIR includes a number of sections of the criminal code that were implemented in India recently, encompassing a variety of offenses, other than those of disrupting traffic.
It is reported that the FIR has been filed under a number of sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 61(2), 223, 125(a), 132 and 285, which are related to such charges as criminal conspiracy, disobedience of any order issued by a public servant, obstruction or other offenses against a public servant, among others.
In addition to the charges of disrupting the roads, the FIR also includes a charge of having fights with the police officers present there and interfering in the execution of their duty.
However, the FIR is not just against the organisers of TMCP. It singles out Banerjee himself, but police has been careful as to what kind of an accusation it is making by this name.
The FIR accuses Banerjee of being amongst the organisers of TMCP and the role played by each one of the accused would be determined during the course of the investigation.
It may be noted that FIR has also accused Banerjee of inciting her followers to go against the court's orders specifically.
It is important to emphasize here that what is interesting about this case, apart from its legal aspects, is who ordered this action to be taken and what has changed politically for that to happen.
According to the Current West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, a case would be registered against the former Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, for the violation of the Calcutta High Court order at the TMCP rally.
In line with that directive, a suo motu FIR has been filed by Kolkata Police; Adhikari elaborating on the alleged violation in question, he stated, "The Calcutta High Court issued a directive regarding the maximum number of participants in the rally and restricted the rally only in one lane. But the former chief minister can be seen provoking her followers to breach the barricade between the two lanes and occupy the road. Such mindset cannot be changed from her DNA."
Nevertheless, while addressing the assembly during the rally, Banerjee minced no words in criticizing the very government which had lodged a case against her.
Banerjee delivered her remarks to the gathering at the rally and criticized the current performance of the police and administration, stating that the misconduct of the current government led by BJP in the state would help Trinamool Congress regain power in the state.
When these reports appeared, there was no immediate response from the faction led by Mamata Banerjee regarding the FIR.
Making this situation even more complicated is the legal identity by which this rally was permitted in the first place.
It was the Calcutta High Court who allowed, under certain conditions, the Trinamool Congress faction headed by Mamata Banerjee to hold the rally in central Kolkata on Friday, a wording that implies an internal division within the current composition of the party, as the permit was granted only to Mamata's faction, not the whole party.
This is not the first time that Banerjee has come into conflict with the ruling of the Calcutta High Court since she has done so more than once before.
In one of these previous instances, when the Calcutta High Court had directed the annulment of all the appointments made using the results of the 2016 teacher recruitment test in West Bengal, Banerjee had herself termed this order "illegal" and had said that she would contest it and that BJP leaders had some control over the judiciary.
Considering that the FIR has been filed and the roles are yet to be defined through investigation, it is possible that this case will depend on the ability of the police to prove the charge of actively inciting his followers to break the barricade during a time when she was addressing them.
Considering the present political situation in West Bengal, where the Adhikari government has ordered the FIR against his predecessor, this case will receive prolonged political interest beyond traffic management and compliance charges.
