Cartoon row: HC refuses to admit PIL on professor

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to admit the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra,who was arrested for allegedly circulating a cartoon of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Vishak Bhattacharjee,a resident of Kolkata,filed a PIL seeking intervention of the Calcutta High Court as the state government did not implement the recommendation of the human rights commission to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to Mahapatra. When advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharjee,counsel of the petitioner moved the plea,the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked why the issue should be treated as PIL as it was a matter between the rights panel and an individual.

The court also asked why the person concerned ( Prof Mahapatra) not filed a case,and what interest did the litigant have in filing the PIL.

The Division Bench said: “The media wrongly reported on March 1 that the petition was admitted. It was not correct.” Recently the state government informed the rights panel that it would file action-taken report within six weeks. The Division Bench was informed of this too.