HC raps ‘police failure’ to ensure SC entry in temple
Times of India | 18 March 2025
12 Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Monday criticised police for not being able to ensure entry of Scheduled Caste community members to Nadia's Bairampur Shiv temple to celebrate the Gajan festival on April 8, saying: "This problem was not there in the West Bengal we know."
Petitioners Jatan Das and others had moved the HC asserting the right of the community to enter the temple and take part in the festivities, alleging that authorities had failed to take action despite several complaints.
The petitioners submitted that their problem began in 2024, after some SC community members expressed their intent to become "sanyasis" for Gajan. The petitioners alleged they were assaulted and threatened by people belonging to the upper caste.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh observed: "This problem is not there in West Bengal. Do people have to assert their right to participate in a festival?"
The petitioners' counsel, Shamim Ahmed, submitted that they were being restrained from participating in Gajan despite the fact that the Shiva temple was not a private religious institution.
In response, the state counsel submitted a report that said a meeting was held on March 5 between the district administration and representatives of the SC community in which it was acknowledged that Scheduled Castes had pledged to refrain from participating in Gajan. It was further stated that the community had pledged not to enter the temple.
"They have not been participating in the festival due to long-standing tradition rather than reasons based on caste-based discrimination," the state counsel submitted.
Justice Ghosh said: "How are the police behaving? Police can't solve a problem in a manner so that the dominant gets the advantage only. If you say that there is no caste-based problem, then the police should ensure that these people can participate."
"This problem was not there in the West Bengal we know. I am compelled to say that this is a failure on the part of the police. Some senior police officer should take charge. Police should also find out if there is something else behind this," the HC judge added.
Justice Ghosh asked govt pleader Swapan Banerjee to have a word with the advocate general and directed cops to file a fresh report at the next hearing of the matter, scheduled on Friday.