Kolkata, 10 November (H.S.) : The vacation bench of the Calcutta High Court has transferred the case concerning the prolonged closure of Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee's Camac Street office to a regular bench. The office has remained locked for nearly two and a half months. The next hearing for the matter has been scheduled for November 23.

The Kalighat camp had approached the High Court questioning the indefinite closure of the party office. The police had shut down the premises on September 3, citing the need for a forensic examination, which has not yet been conducted. During the legal proceedings, the petitioners argued that the lights and fans inside the locked office have been left running, leading to mounting electricity bills. Following these submissions, the court sought to know the state government's official stance on the matter before forwarding it to the regular bench.

The closure of the Camac Street office is rooted in a series of legal and administrative tangles, including allegations of fire safety deficits and billboard irregularities. Previously, the municipal corporation had conducted an enforcement drive over alleged irregularities regarding billboards put up at the Trinamool Congress office, which had led to a chaotic situation at the premises.

Shortly after the billboard incident, the fire brigade conducted an inspection on the seventh and eighth floors of the building to assess the existing fire safety measures. Following the inspection, the fire department issued a formal notice to both the building owner and the tenant. The notice highlighted that the fire safety certificate for the Camac Street office had expired on August 10 and no subsequent application for its renewal had been submitted. Authorities reportedly identified six different types of fire safety violations during their check, which ultimately led to the office being shut down.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh