Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha & ANR. v. State Of West Bengal & ORS.

05.08.2021 Ct. No.13 Sl. No.79 pk/akd W.P.A. 19178 of 2007 [via video conference] [Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha & Anr. -Vs- The State of West Bengal & Ors.] Mr. Piush Chaturvedi ... ... for the petitioners The subject matter of the writ application is a demand of Rs.88,962/- raised by the West Bengal Police against the petitioners.

It is submitted that not only is the amount arbitrary but the police force was deployed even without the writ petitioners' asking for the same. It is further submitted that the petitioners' gatherings are essentially peaceful and there was no need for any police protection whatsoever.

This Court is of the view that the propriety of the decision of the State to unilaterally deploy police force and demand charges from organisers of gatherings has not been gone into in the instant writ application. The merits of the claim of the petitioners have not been addressed here. With a view to put an end to the longstanding dispute, this Court directs the writ petitioners to pay a sum of Rs.50,000/- towards full and final settlement of the deployment of the police force as claimed in the Memo No. 3317/61.64 dated 12th June, 2007. With the aforesaid observations, the writ petition is disposed of.

There shall be no order as to costs.

All parties are to act on a server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this court. (Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)