15.07.2026 Item No.06 Court No.01 Avijit Mitra WPA (P) 271 of 2026 Tapas Chakraborty - Versus – The State of West Bengal & ors. Mr. Raghunath Chakraborty, Mr. Rahul Singh, Mr. Saikat Thakurata, Ms. Rushali Chatterjee …..for the petitioner Mr. Ajit Kumar Mishra, Ld. AGP, Mr. Madhu Jana, JGA, Mr. Gopal Krishna Sarkar, Ms. Puja Sonkar …..for the State The present Public Interest Litigation (in short, PIL) has been preferred primarily praying for an order directing the respondent authorities to maintain status quo in respect of Kotwali Police Station Case No. 144 of 2026 dated 09.02.2026. In addition thereto, the petitioner has prayed for a further direction upon the concerned respondent authorities to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for the police and other authorities so that the actions of the law enforcement agencies in similar situations do not violate the fundamental rights of citizens and persons associated with the noble cause of organ donation. Mr. Chakraborty, learned advocate representing the petitioner, submits that the deceased, being a sensitised person, had pledged to donate her eyes before her death. Accordingly, after her demise, her eyes were donated. However, certain neighbours lodged a complaint alleging that the accused persons had sold the deceased's eyes to another person for monetary gain. He submits that upon receipt of such complaint, two criminal cases being Kotwali Police Station Case Nos. 144 and 145 of 2026, both dated 09.02.2026, were registered against the son and daughters of the deceased, who had taken an active role in fulfilling the deceased's wish to donate her eyes. He submits that, based on these allegations, two separate criminal cases were registered and the accused persons were arrested in connection therewith. Subsequently, they were released on bail and, upon completion of the investigation, a charge sheet has also been submitted in respect of one of the criminal cases. He submits that if these criminal proceedings are allowed to continue, the same would amount to permitting an abuse of the criminal justice system and allowing the investigating authorities to act on conjecture, suspicion, and moral outrage. He submits that the accused persons are not financially solvent enough to approach this Court. Consequently, the present petitioner, claiming to be a public-spirited person, has approached this Court praying for a direction to maintain status quo in respect of the criminal proceeding and for a further direction upon the concerned respondent authorities to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for the police and other authorities so that the actions of the law enforcement agencies in similar situations do not infringe the fundamental rights of citizens and persons associated with the noble cause of organ donation. Mr. Mishra, learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the State, places a written instruction and submits that, based on the allegations lodged against the accused persons, an investigation was carried out, during which certain incriminating materials were revealed. Accordingly, two criminal cases, being 2 Kotwali Police Station Case Nos. 144 and 145 of 2026, both dated 09.02.2026, were registered. He submits that, upon completion of the investigation, a charge sheet has also been filed in respect of Kotwali Police Station Case No. 145 of 2026. He further submits that it would not be appropriate to interfere with a criminal case at the instance of a third party. Heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties and perused the materials on record. Indisputably, pursuant to the allegations levelled against the accused persons, two separate criminal cases were registered and we have been informed that, upon completion of the investigation in one of the cases, a charge sheet has been submitted. Therefore, the competent criminal court is in seisin of the dispute arising out of the said incident. In a catena of decisions, including the decision reported in (1991) 3 SCC 756 (Janata Dal v. H.S. Chowdhary), the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that criminal proceedings cannot ordinarily be challenged or interfered with at the instance of a third party. With regard to the prayer seeking a direction upon the respondents to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), we are of the view that the field is already comprehensively governed by the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act and the statutory framework framed thereunder. In such circumstances, we do not find any necessity to issue a direction for formulation of any separate SOP at this stage. In view thereof, applying this proposition of law we are not inclined to interfere with the present PIL. 3 Accordingly, the writ petition being WPA (P) 271 of 2026 is dismissed. There shall, however, be no order as to costs. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the learned advocates for the parties. (Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, J.) (Tapabrata Chakraborty, A.C.J.) 4