HC recognises All India Matua Mahasangha as mela organiser
Times of India | 29 March 2025
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Friday recognised All India Matua Mahasangha as the organiser of the Matua Dharma Mela, which began on March 26 and will continue till April 2.
A division bench of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi passed the order accepting the prayer by junior Union minister Shantanu Thakur. However, the division bench left it open for the civil court to decide under whose control — Shantanu or Trinamool MP Mamata Bala Thakur — the mela would be held.
The division bench's recognition to All India Matua Mahasangha led by Shantanu came a fortnight after an HC single bench on March 13 cancelled the the licence granted by North 24 Parganas zilla parishad to the ‘sanghadhipati' of All India Matua Mahasangha, Mamata Bala Thakur, to hold the Matua Dharma Mela.
The licence was cancelled on the grounds that it was given under provisions of West Bengal Zilla Parishads Act, 1963, which had been repealed after West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, came into force.
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