Octagon Plazza Private Limited and Anr. Vs the State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

Octagon Plazza Private Limited and Anr. Vs the State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

No substantive relief beyond procedural directions aimed at expedition: respondents to file affidavits-in-opposition within two weeks after the ensuing Puja Vacation; replies within one week thereafter; State to produce LCR before the Tribunal on the returnable date of February 24, 2025; Tribunal to endeavour to dispose of OA 762 of 2024 on that date or preferably within eight weeks thereafter; no order as to costs.

Issue for consideration

Whether the learned Tribunal should be directed to expedite disposal of OA 762 of 2024, in which petitioner no. 2 challenges the order of the Controller of Kolkata Thika Tenancy. +1 more

Court's answer

The Court directed the State respondents and the other private respondents to submit affidavits-in-opposition within two weeks after the ensuing Puja Vacation.

Ratio / Principle

Replies, if any, to the affidavits-in-opposition were directed to be filed within one week thereafter.

Key takeaways

In response to the Court's query, the State (through its Additional Government Pleader) undertook to produce the Lower Court Records and to submit its affidavit-in-opposition to the OA on the date fixed by the Tribunal.ratio¶15
The LCR shall be produced before the learned Tribunal on the returnable date, i.e., February 24, 2025.ratio¶18
The Tribunal is directed to make a sincere endeavor to dispose of the OA on February 24, 2025, or as expeditiously as possible, preferably within eight weeks thereafter.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ petition (WPLRT 68 of 2024, decided 20.09.2024 by a bench comprising Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and Tapabrata Chakraborty, JJ.) filed by Octagon Plazza Private Limited & Anr. seeking a directive to the learned Tribunal to expedite disposal of OA 762 of 2024, in which petitioner no. 2 challenges an order of the Controller of Kolkata Thinka Tenancy — the OA had been heard on April 26, 2024 with the next date fixed only for February 24, 2025. Private respondents opposed, noting an earlier direction by a Bench presided over by Tapabrata Chakraborty, J. and the subsequent institution of a civil suit allegedly concealed from the Tribunal. The Court directed respondents to file affidavits-in-opposition within two weeks after the ensuing Puja Vacation (replies within one week), the State undertook to produce the Lower Court Records on the returnable date of February 24, 2025, and the Tribunal was asked to sincerely endeavour to dispose of the OA on that date or as expeditiously as possible, preferably within eight weeks. Writ disposed of; no order as to costs.

4 20.09.2024 Ct. No. 11 rrc

WPLRT 68 of 2024 (Octagon Plazza Private Limited & Anr. Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.)

Mr. Saptansu Basu, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sandip Kr. De Mr. Shayak Mitra Mr Abhijit Sarkar …. For the petitioners

Md. T. M. Siddiqui, Ld. AGP Mr. Soumitra Bandyopadhyay Mr. S. Dhar Mr. P. Batabyal Mr. S. Adak

…… For the State respondents

Mr. Arun Pahari Mr. Arkadyuti Pahari Ms. Gargi Maity

…… For the private respondents

Ms. Tanushree Dasgupta

…… For the K.M.C.

The present writ petition has been instituted seeking a directive to the learned Tribunal to expedite the disposal of the Original Application (in short, OA), being OA 762 of 2024.

Mr. Basu, the learned senior advocate representing the petitioners, submits that in order to resolve the issue raised in the OA, petitioners have been languishing for years in various judicial forums. He laments that the petitioners are trapped in a purgatorial rigmarole, moving back and forth between the learned Tribunal and the High Court, but the matter has not been finally decided till the date.

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He further submits that, lastly, challenging the order passed by the Controller of Kolkata Thika Tenancy, petitioner no. 2 approached the learned Tribunal with this OA, which was heard on April 26, 2024. However, the next hearing date for that OA has been scheduled for about ten months later, on February 24, 2025. He therefore prays for a direction to the learned Tribunal to dispose of the OA as expeditiously as possible.

Mr. Pahari, the learned advocate appearing for the private respondents, vehemently opposes the contentions raised by Mr. Basu. He submits that this Court intervened in the dispute on an earlier occasion, and a Bench presided over by one of us (Tapabrata Chakraborty, J.) had already directed the learned Tribunal to dispose of the earlier OA expeditiously. However, he submits that the present dispute has led to the institution of a civil suit, and that the petitioners have suppressed this fact before the learned Tribunal. He argues that in this context the order, as prayed for by the petitioner no. 2, cannot be passed.

Answering our query, Mr. Siddiqui, learned Additional Government Pleader representing the State respondents, submits that the State shall produce the Lower Court Records (in short, LCR) and the State shall submit their affidavit-inopposition to the OA on the date fixed by the learned Tribunal.

Having regard to the submissions made on behalf of the respective parties, we direct the State respondents and the other private respondents to submit their affidavits-inopposition within two weeks after the ensuing Puja Vacation. Reply, if any, thereto be filed within one week thereafter. As submitted by the State respondents, the LCR shall be produced

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before the learned Tribunal on the returnable date, i.e., February 24, 2025. The learned Tribunal shall make a sincere endeavor to dispose of the OA on that date or as expeditiously as possible, preferably within eight weeks thereafter.

With the above observations and directions, the writ petition being WPLRT 68 of 2024 is disposed of.

There shall, however, be no order as to costs.

All parties shall act on the server copies of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

(Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, J.) (Tapabrata Chakraborty, J.)