Calcutta High Court on Monday started the hearing on Bidhannagar municipality Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta’s petition that challenged the no-confidence motion notification moved against him by the municipal body. The hearing is continuing on Tuesday as well.
Moving the petition on behalf of Dutta, senior advocate and former Mayor of Kolkata, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said that the Trinamool Congress government had violated municipal rules in trying to remove Dutta from his post. The no-confidence motion had no basis and had been arbitrarily issued against him, he argued.
He said that Dutta had taken some steps against people engaged in unauthorised construction and filling wetlands in the area and hence some people close to the top leadership had turned out against him. Dutta had informed the matter to municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim, but nothing had been done, he argued.
Bhattacharya also argued that only a municipal commissioner had the power to issue a notification for no-confidence motion against a Mayor. The commissioner is on leave and someone (Surajit Ghosh) on behalf of her had issued the notification of no-trust motion.
Ghosh in fact, had been appointed the deputy commissioner prior to the issuing of the notification.
Advocate general Kishore Dutta however, claimed that the notification had been issued as per rules. The hearing will continue on Tuesday.
