Pension Not Payable If Employee Fails To Exercise Mandatory Option Under 1984 Model Pension Rules Adopted By Municipality: Calcutta HC

A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta held that an employee is not entitled to pension under the West Bengal Municipal (Employees' Death cum Retirement Benefits) Rules, 2003 if the municipality had already adopted the Model Pension Rules (1984), and the employee failed to exercise the mandatory option to come under the pension scheme. Background Facts The appellant was employed as a Burial Ground Watchman at Budge...

WB Polls: PIL In Calcutta High Court Challenges Alleged List Of 'Troublemakers' By ECI To Detain TMC's Political Workers

The Calcutta High Court has been moved with a public interest litigation alleging that the Election Commission of India has secretly prepared and circulated a list of so-called “trouble makers” across West Bengal, with directions to identify and arrest or preventively detain such persons before polling in the 2026 Assembly elections.The petition, filed by advocate Md. Danish Farooqui, claims the alleged list predominantly contains workers, office-bearers and elected representatives associated...

WB Polls: PIL Before Calcutta High Court Challenges Voter Roll Deletions, Seeks Clear Appellate Framework Before Polling Begins

A Public Interest Litigation has been moved before the Calcutta High Court seeking urgent judicial intervention over alleged large-scale deletions from the West Bengal electoral rolls following the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.The petition, filed by Sk Anwar Ali, contends that despite directions issued by the Supreme Court in the batch of matters concerning the West Bengal SIR process, the appellate mechanism for aggrieved voters remains “unclear,...

Calcutta High Court Monthly Digest: March 2026

Addition Of Text Above Signature On Receipt Raises 'Grave Suspicion': Calcutta High Court Refuses To Discharge Forgery AccusedCase: Gopal Banerjee & Anr. v. State of West Bengal & Anr. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Cal) 122The Calcutta High Court has refused to interfere with a Magistrate's order rejecting discharge of two accused persons in a criminal case alleging forgery and...

Calcutta High Court Acquits Man Sentenced To Death For Wife's Murder, Says Trial Court “Misconstrued” Facts To Fill Gaps

The Calcutta High Court has acquitted a man who had been sentenced to death for allegedly murdering his wife and concealing her body in a septic tank, holding that the prosecution utterly failed to establish an unbroken chain of circumstances and that the trial court had proceeded with a “pre-determined mind” by attempting to make the facts fit the prosecution's story.A Division Bench...

Calcutta High Court Directs State To Grant Surrogacy Eligibility Certificate To Couple Who Crossed Age Limit After Starting ART Process

The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal government to issue an eligibility certificate under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 to a married couple who crossed the statutory age limit after initiating fertility treatment, holding that they should not be denied parenthood after already undergoing the Assisted Reproductive Technology process and successfully...

WB Polls: Calcutta HC Quashes Appointment Of College Teachers As Presiding Officers, Pulls Up ECI For Failure To Justify Decision

The Calcutta High Court on Friday sharply criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) for appointing Assistant Professors and Associate Professors from government colleges as Presiding Officers for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections without recording any “unavoidable circumstances” as mandated under earlier Commission instructions.Justice Krishna Rao, while allowing a...

“Changing Rules Whenever You Want”: Calcutta High Court To ECI In Plea Challenging Teachers' Deployment For 2026 WB Polls

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday pulled up the Election Commission over what it described as a repeatedly changing stand regarding deployment of personnel for election-related duties, while hearing a plea challenging the decision to engage college teachers for poll duty.Justice Krishna Rao was considering a petition assailing the Commission's notification concerning deployment of...

Plea In Calcutta High Court Seeks Action Against Suvendu Adhikari Over Alleged Inflammatory Speech At Bhawanipore Rally

A plea has been moved before the Calcutta High Court, seeking action against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari over alleged inflammatory and unconstitutional remarks made during a public rally in Kolkata, with the petitioner contending that such statements undermine secularism and threaten communal harmony.The petitioner, Soumo Mondal, seeks a direction on the Election Commission of India...

Brother Not Covered For Purpose Of Family Pension, When Eligible Claimant Mother Never Availed It: Calcutta HC

A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty held that the brother of a deceased government teacher does not qualify as “family” under Clause 5(s)(2) of the Pension Scheme, 1981, and he cannot claim family pension arrears, especially when the original beneficiary (mother) never claimed the benefit during...

“Right To Information Is A Fundamental Right”: Calcutta High Court Orders Expeditious Disposal Of RTI Query

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday reiterated that the Right to Information is a fundamental right flowing from Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, and directed the State Public Information Officer of the West Bengal Information Commission to dispose of a pending RTI request within 15 days. Justice Rai Chattopadhyay was hearing a petition challenging the non-supply of information sought in...

'Conviction Cannot Rest On Contradictions': Calcutta High Court Acquits Brothers In Attempt-To-Murder Case After 19 Years

The Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction of two brothers, Naba Kumar Koley and Gunadhar Koley, who had been found guilty under Sections 307 and 324 of the IPC for allegedly assaulting their sibling Balai Koley over a dispute relating to Til plants. Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das), delivering judgment on April 8, 2026, held that the prosecution's case was riddled with...