Writ petition challenging municipal parking restrictions dismissed. Court held petitioner has no right to park on municipal road and may not use road inordinately or overnight.
No order as to costs. Urgent certified copy to be supplied to parties.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
2
15.09.2023 ssi
Ct 14
WPA 18607 of 2023
Chinmoy Roy -vsState of West Bengal & ors.
Mr. Bikramjit Dutta ...for the petitioner Mr. Dilip Kumar Samanta Mr. Debopriya Samanta ...for the respondent nos. 5 & 6 Mr. Sk. Md. Galib Mr. Abu Siddique Mallik ...for the State Mr. Arijit Dey ...for the Baranagar Municipality
Affidavit of service filed on behalf of the petitioner is taken on record.
Further report filed on behalf of the State is also taken on record.
Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits as follows. The petitioner’s daughter contested the municipal election on behalf of the opposition political party. Since then the local Administration is unnecessary harassing the petitioner and taking exceptionally harsh steps regarding regulating parking of cars. The petitioner parks his car at the dead end of a road. The local Administration along with the police authorities came and put up an order that no such vehicle should be parked on the road. However, there are several other cars and vehicles
2
which always remain parked on similar roads.
Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Municipal Authorities relies on the report filed earlier and submits as follows. It appears that the car owner is parking his car on the municipal road. As a result, the local people are facing difficulty to walk smoothly and clean of drainage by municipal workers.
Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the private respondent nos. 5 and 6 submits as follows. The allegations in the writ petition are denied. There is a narrow road in front of the house in question. Even if a fire engine or an ambulance is required to pass, it would have difficult if a car is parked on such road.
Learned counsel for the State relies on the report and submits as follows. The parking on the car in question on the municipal road is causing hindrance to others. Earlier this Court had passed a direction in respect of a similar road in the same locality asking the petitioner not to park their cars on municipal road except in accordance with law.
It appears that the petitioner has been parking his car on a road which was not too wide.
Both the State and the Municipal Authorities are objecting to the same and submitting that such parking of cars would hamper the smooth passage for pedestrians, cleaning of drainage by municipal workers and even movement of fire engine or ambulance, if required.
So far as the notice put on the road regarding not
3
parking of cars is concerned, if the same is not put up by either the State or the Municipal Authorities, the same should be removed by the concerned authorities.
However, the petitioners have not been able to make out a case that they have a right to park the car on the municipal road.
Let them not park the car there for an inordinately long time or over night.
The Municipal Authority shall deal with all vehicles part on the road in similar fashion.
Therefore, I do not find any merit in this application.
Accordingly, the same is dismissed.
However, there shall be no order as to costs.
Urgent photostat certified copy of this order be supplied to the parties, if applied for, as early as possible.
(Jay Sengupta, J.)
1 issue framed by the court
Whether a writ petition challenging the parking restriction imposed by the municipal authority has merit.
Chinmoy Roy
State of West Bengal
Baranagar Municipality
Jay Sengupta
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
