11.03.2026 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Ct. No.39 Special Civil Jurisdiction D.L.1 Appellate Side pp CRC 26 of 2025 (Assigned) Sri Partha Basu Chowdhury Vs. Sankar Bera & Ors. in FMA 176 of 2020 Ms. Usha Maiti, Sr. Adv., Ms. Anita Khatri, Mr. Sakya Maity ….for the applicant/appellant. Mr. Debasish Das ….for the contemnor nos.1 & 3 to 7. Mr. Billwadal Bhattacharyya, Sr. Adv., Ms. Megha Datta, ….for the contemnor no.2. In response to the Rule, the contemnor no.3, Sri Haripada Bera; contemnor no.5, Smt. Mamata Tripathy; contemnor no.6, Smt. Soma Chakraborty & contemnor no.7, Smt. Pinki Santra are personally present in Court. Contemnor no.2, Smt. Parul Maity is virtually attending the proceedings as she is not in a position to come to Court due to her ill health. The contemnor no.1, Sankar Bera, the former Chairman of Egra Municipality was present before 2 this Court on an earlier occasion pursuant to which his personal appearance was, therefor, dispensed with Sankar Bera the Chairman of Egra Municipality at the time when the order dated 28th January, 2019 was passed and communicated to the said Municipality on 25th February, 2019. No plausible explanation has come forth from the said Sankar Bera for not having complied with the order despite being specifically aware of the same till he demitted office on 22nd May, 2020. Sankar Bera is, therefor, hauled up in contempt and held guilty of contempt of Court for having violated the order dated 28th January, 2019. The contemnor no.2, Parul Maity and contemnor 3, Haripada Bera were respectively the members of the previous Board of Councillors, Egra Municipality and they were councilors till 22nd May, 2020. Mamata Tripathy, Soma Chakraborty and Pinki Santra, according to their statements, have become councilors from 2022 on the new Board of Councillors, Egra Municipality having been constituted after the mandate of the previous board expired on 22nd May, 2020. The order under contempt is dated 28th January, 2019. The same was communicated to the Board of 3 Councillors, Egra Municipality on 25th February, 2019. Thus, Parul Maity and Haripada Bera were councilors and part of the Board of Councillors of Egra Municipality on the date when the said order was received by the concerned Municipality and its Board of Councillors. Parul Maity and Haripada Bera did not comply with the order despite of being aware of the same on and from 25th February, 2019 till they demitted their office on 22nd May, 2020. Sufficient time was available to them for complying with the order dated 28th January, 2019 even though pandemic broke out in the month of March, 2020. The said Parul Maity and Haripada Bera are held guilty of contempt of Court for having violated the order dated 28th January, 2019. So far as Mamata Tripathy, Soma Chakraborty and Pinki Santra respectively being the contemnor nos.5, 6 and 7 are concerned, they admittedly became councilors in 2022 and are part of the present Board of Councillors of Egra Municipality. None of them have been able to give any satisfactory reason for not having complied with the order dated 28th January, 2019 between 2022 when they assumed the office till 8th July, 2025 when the reasoned order was passed. 4 In terms of the order dated 28th January, 2019. Mamata Tripathy, Soma Chakraborty and Pinki Santra on having assumed the office as councilors ought to have taken note of the order dated 28th January, 2019 and enquired about the compliance thereof. Only after the contempt notice was issued the concerned Board of Councillors took steps to comply with the order but more than three years had elapsed inbetween. Not having done so despite sufficient time and opportunity, the said Mamata Tripathy, Soma Chakraborty and Pinki Santra are also held guilty of contempt of Court for having violated the order dated 28th January, 2019. Sankar Bera, Parul Maity, Haripada Bera, Mamata Tripathy, Soma Chakraborty and Pinki Santra are, therefor, imposed with fine. Each one of them shall pay a sum of Rs.1,001/- to the State Legal Services Authority by 10th April, 2026, failing which they shall be punished in accordance with law for such further willful default. So far as Sri Swapan Nayak, the present Chairman of Egra Municipality being the contemnor no.4 is concerned, we are informed that he is in judicial custody. We, therefor, refrain from making 5 any order against him as he could not be offered an opportunity to explain his conduct. On behalf of the petitioner, the grievances have been ventilated in respect of the reasoned order dated 8th July, 2025. In contempt jurisdiction, we are not in a position to consider the grievances relating to the said reasoned order. It will be open to the petitioner to challenge the same in accordance with law, if so advised before the appropriate forum. The contempt proceeding is dropped and the Rule issued against the contemnors stands discharged. (Ananya Bandyopadhyay, J.) (Arindam Mukherjee, J.)