Calcutta HC Clears Mamata Meeting in Sreerampur, Bars GT Road Rally

The Calcutta High Court has permitted a public meeting by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Sreerampur, in Hooghly district, on Friday, September 11, 2026, while declining to allow the procession along GT Road that she was scheduled to lead.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, passing the order on Thursday, September 10, allowed the meeting at Mahesh Jagannath Dev Snanpiri Maidan between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., with a cap of 2,000 participants. The court directed that no inflammatory statements capable of triggering communal tension be made at the gathering and asked the police to deploy sufficient personnel to prevent any untoward incident.

The ruling came on a petition by former Trinamool Congress MLA Asit Majumdar, who had challenged the police's refusal to permit a procession along GT Road. The petitioner had proposed the procession from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with an expected turnout of about 5,000 people.

Opposing the plea, the State government submitted that GT Road is narrow and needs to remain accessible because hospitals, schools and a fire station are located nearby. It also described the area as communally sensitive.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Sirsanyo Bandopadhyay contended that political parties routinely hold rallies along GT Road, but objections surface only when Ms. Banerjee seeks to organise a programme. He also pointed to a rally attended by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday that had choked Raja SC Mullick Road in Jadavpur, in south Kolkata.

Senior advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, also appearing for the petitioner, proposed holding a meeting at Mahesh Jagannath Dev Snanpiri Maidan as an alternative to the procession. The State's lawyer, for his part, suggested that the procession could be taken through Delhi Road at the proposed time.

Taking note of the inconvenience a rally on the narrow GT Road on a working day could cause residents, the court accepted the petitioner's suggestion of a meeting instead.

Justice Bhattacharyya also referred to two earlier occasions when directions issued by the court regarding political programmes of Ms. Banerjee in Kolkata were allegedly not followed. The court had directed that one lane of Cathedral Road in south Kolkata be kept open while meetings were held on the other side on July 21 and August 28. According to reports submitted by the authorities, the restrictions were not observed on those occasions, with both flanks allegedly occupied and the movement of vehicles and pedestrians affected.

Kalyan Bandopadhyay, who is also a TMC MP, said limiting the number of participants would be difficult as Ms. Banerjee is "the most charismatic leader in West Bengal".

The judge observed that since the petitioner had approached the court, a balance had to be struck between preserving the petitioner's democratic right and ensuring that police authorities do not face difficulties in managing the situation on the day of the programme.