G.Radha Vs Andaman and Nicobar Administration and Anr. — Calcutta HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

G.Radha Vs Andaman and Nicobar Administration and Anr. — Calcutta HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty to the petitioner to file a detailed representation before the Secretary, Municipal Council, to be considered sympathetically (including whether similarly situated persons were accommodated in other municipal shops, markets and the industrial estate); the exercise to be completed within three months of receipt of the representation, with a reasoned order communicated to the petitioner.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, a widow evicted from her tea stall on Foreshore Road at Haddo without an alternative site, is entitled to an alternative shop/placement on par with similarly situated persons who were given shops/plots/land in the industrial estate. +1 more

Court's answer

The writ petition is disposed of by granting liberty to the petitioner to make a detailed representation before the Secretary, Municipal Council, which shall be considered sympathetically, taking into account the number of years she ran the tea stall to maintain her family, the issues being ones of sustenance and survival of the family.

Ratio / Principle

The petitioner's prayer for grant of a shop in the municipal market ought to have been made before the Secretary of Sri Vijaya Puram Municipal Council, with proper details and facts.

Key takeaways

On receipt of the representation, the Secretary, Municipal Council shall also consider whether similarly situated persons had been accommodated in other municipal shops, markets and in the industrial estate.ratio¶17
The entire exercise shall be completed within three months from receipt of the petitioner's representation, and a reasoned order shall be communicated to the petitioner.ratio¶18

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ petition (Port Blair Circuit Bench, High Court at Calcutta) by a widow who ran a tea stall on Foreshore Road at Haddo and alleged she was evicted without allotment of any alternative site/land/shop, while similarly situated persons were given alternative shops/plots/land in the industrial estate. Observing that her prayer for a shop in the municipal market, made to the Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor, ought to have been addressed with proper details to the Secretary, Sri Vijaya Puram Municipal Council, the Court (Shampa Sarkar, J.) disposed of the petition with liberty to file a detailed representation before the said Secretary. The representation is to be considered sympathetically, taking into account the number of years the petitioner ran the tea stall to sustain her family, and whether similarly situated persons had been accommodated in other municipal shops, markets and in the industrial estate. The entire exercise is to be completed within three months of receipt of the representation, and a reasoned order is to be communicated to the petitioner. No statutory provisions or precedents were cited.

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IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA [ CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR ]

WPA/521/2025

G. Radha

Vs.

The Andaman and Nicobar Administration and another

Mr. Mohammed Tabraiz	… for the petitioner
Ms. Babita Das	… for the Administration
Mr. Rakesh Kumar	… for the Municipal Council

November 7, 2025 [SR] Item No. 13

The petitioner is a widow. She was running a tea stall from Foreshore Road at Haddo. According to the petitioner, she was evicted without allotment of any alternative site/land/shop. She submits that similarly situated persons were given alternative shops/plots/land in the industrial estate.

It appears that the petitioner had approached the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor for a sympathetic considerations for grant of a shop in the municipal market. In my opinion, such prayer ought to have been made before the Secretary of Sri Vijaya Puram Municipal Council, with proper details and facts.

It is submitted by Mr. Tabraiz that other similarly situated shop owners had been given alternative shops and the petitioner should not be discriminated upon.

Mr. Rakesh Kumar, learned appearing on behalf of the municipal council submits that the submissions of the petitioner are not totally correct. The petitioner was evicted from the road, on which she was running the tea shop upon

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encroaching the same. The municipal council is bound by its policy and cannot give any special treatment to the petitioner.

The writ petition is disposed of by granting liberty to the petitioner to make a detailed representation before the Secretary, Municipal council, which shall be considered sympathetically, upon taking into account the number of years that the petitioner has been running the tea stall to maintain her family. The issues of sustenance and survival of the family are involved.

If such representation is filed, the Secretary, Municipal Council shall also consider whether similarly situated persons had been accommodated in other municipal shops and markets and in the industrial estate.

The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the representation of the petitioner. A reasoned order shall be communicated to the petitioner.

The writ petition is disposed of accordingly.

Parties to act in terms of the server copy of this order

downloaded from the website of this Hon’ble Court.

( Shampa Sarkar, J. )