Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Thursday declined to entertain a petition by former state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury seeking the court’s directions on two allegedly contradictory stances of the state over the release of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) water in Bengal in Sept 17, 2024.
“No sympathy for your client. This is an old issue. We heard him at length for two hours earlier when he appeared in person. We passed necessary orders that were upheld by the Supreme Court. We know what his capacity is. He can work wonders,” Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam told Chowdhury’s counsel.
“You have filed a number of PILs. First of all, you collect information other than the two newspaper clippings. You find out how much water was stored in the dam when it was opened,” the CJ said. “The petitioner was an MP four times. He was also the West Bengal Pradesh Congress president. He doesn’t require the help of the high court,” he added.
Chowdhury had argued that while CM Banerjee had claimed that DVC had released the water without prior intimation to the state, the government had issued a flood alert in eight districts three days ahead of the water release.
The division bench of CJ Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya granted leave to the petitioner to withdraw his petition. When Chowdhury’s counsel submitted that he intended to file a fresh petition, the CJ said: “You better go to Adhir Chowdhury. He will tell you which is the appropriate forum to agitate on the issue.”
“No sympathy for your client. This is an old issue. We heard him at length for two hours earlier when he appeared in person. We passed necessary orders that were upheld by the Supreme Court. We know what his capacity is. He can work wonders,” Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam told Chowdhury’s counsel.
“You have filed a number of PILs. First of all, you collect information other than the two newspaper clippings. You find out how much water was stored in the dam when it was opened,” the CJ said. “The petitioner was an MP four times. He was also the West Bengal Pradesh Congress president. He doesn’t require the help of the high court,” he added.
Chowdhury had argued that while CM Banerjee had claimed that DVC had released the water without prior intimation to the state, the government had issued a flood alert in eight districts three days ahead of the water release.
The division bench of CJ Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya granted leave to the petitioner to withdraw his petition. When Chowdhury’s counsel submitted that he intended to file a fresh petition, the CJ said: “You better go to Adhir Chowdhury. He will tell you which is the appropriate forum to agitate on the issue.”
