Kolkata, 15 July (H.S.): The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday rejected a plea by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress seeking permission to hold its annual July 21 Martyrs' Day rally at its traditional venue in front of the CESC House near Esplanade in central Kolkata.

The matter came up before the single-judge bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, which initially sought the state government's stand on the issue. After the government proposed an alternative venue, the court resumed the hearing and subsequently permitted the rally to be held in front of the Birla Planetarium in central Kolkata.

The court, however, imposed several conditions on the event. It capped the number of participants at 2,500, directed that only one of the two traffic lanes in front of the Birla Planetarium could be used for the gathering, and fixed the rally timing from 12 noon to 3 p.m., leaving the other lane open for vehicular movement.

During the hearing, the state government argued that the area around the Birla Planetarium houses several schools and hospitals and requested that the gathering be restricted to 500 people.

Appearing for the petitioner, Trinamool Congress MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the government was finding excuses to deny permission for the rally. He urged the court to allow up to 5,000 participants. The state opposed the request, arguing that even a crowd of 3,000 would cause inconvenience to the public.

After hearing both sides, Justice Bhattacharya fixed the maximum attendance at 2,500 and directed Kolkata Police to ensure adequate security and maintain law and order during the event.

Meanwhile, the rebel-majority faction of the Trinamool Congress led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee has also received permission from Kolkata Police to hold a separate rally on July 21 on Jawaharlal Nehru Road in central Kolkata.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey