HC to hear on July 15 TMC Mamata Banerjee-led faction's petition for permission for rally

Kolkata, Jul 13 (PTI) A petition by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction seeking direction to the police to allow its July 21 Martyrs' Day rally in front of Victoria House at Esplanade will be heard by the Calcutta High Court on July 15. The petition, filed on July 10, was mentioned before Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya on Monday by the faction's lawyer seeking an early hearing. Justice Bhattacharyya said the matter will be heard on July 15. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction filed the petition praying that their July 21 Martyrs' Day rally be allowed in front of Victoria House in the busy Esplanade area of central Kolkata. The petition challenges the Kolkata Police authority's imposition of a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the area. The petitioner claimed that an application for permission to hold the martyrs' day rally, which the TMC holds every year in front of Victoria House at Esplanade, has been kept pending by the police. A dissident group of the TMC led by MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, has also said it will hold the martyrs' day rally on July 21. The dissident faction was formed after the West Bengal assembly election result declared on May 4. PTI AMR RG