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.