States » EastPosted at: Sep 16 2026 5:18PM


Calcutta High Court dismisses PIL over Mamata's Bangladesh remarks

Kolkata, Sep 16 (UNI) The Calcutta High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed over remarks made by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee regarding Bangladesh during a political programme at Dharmatala on June 2.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Rabindranath V Ghuge on Wednesday dismissed the PIL after the state government submitted a report stating that no cognisable offence had been committed through Banerjee's remarks.
The court had sought the state's report during the hearing of the petition on September 1.
The PIL was filed by Abhratanu Sarkar, who alleged that Banerjee's comments referred to the killing of Bangladeshi youth leader Osman Hadi, although she had not mentioned anyone by name.
During the September 1 hearing, the court had questioned the maintainability of the petition.
The then Acting Chief Justice Tapobrata Chakraborty had asked, "Whatever anyone says, does the court have to hear it? Why should this be entertained as a PIL?"
He had also observed that PILs were increasingly being used as a particular "tool" or "weapon".
The bench had also referred to an earlier case involving late actor and Trinamul Congress MP Tapas Pal, in which allegations had been raised over provocative remarks and police inaction.
Justice Chakraborty had been part of the division bench that heard that case.
At the June 2 programme at the Y Channel in Dharmatala, Banerjee had said that the Special Task Force (STF) had arrested a "big killer" from Bangladesh who had entered Bengal through Meghalaya.
"An important point I am saying is that after that, they came to Bengal through Meghalaya. When they came to Bengal, our STF arrested him. This is their credit," Banerjee had said.
She also claimed that the union Home Minister had personally spoken to her about the matter and asked her not to disclose details in the interest of the country.
When people at the gathering demanded that she reveal the person's identity, Banerjee declined, saying she did not want to disclose the name "in the interest of the country" and did not want to trigger unrest in Bangladesh.
The state government's report subsequently told the High Court that the remarks did not constitute a cognisable offence.
The bench dismissed the PIL after considering the report. UNI SAG SAS
Tags: #Calcutta High Court dismisses PIL over Mamata's Bangladesh remarks
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