KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court wants to know how the West Bengal government answers a set of allegations about stamp papers, police and TMC workers.
The court has sought the state's response to a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that police used fraudulently issued stamp papers to coerce Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers and members of the public into signing affidavits. According to the petition, the affidavits were meant to support a rival faction in a dispute before the Election Commission of India.
A division bench of Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi, on October 20, directed the state government to file its affidavit-in-opposition, along with specific objections on the petition's maintainability.
The order sets the next step: the state's reply, and its objections to whether the PIL can be heard at all. Until that affidavit is filed, the court has not taken a position on the allegations.
The PIL rests on two claims. One, that the stamp papers were issued fraudulently. Two, that police used them to pressure TMC workers and members of the public into signing. Both remain allegations at this stage.
The matter will return to the bench once the state files its affidavit.