Cal HC allows demonstration by state govt employees for higher DA till Saturday 4 pm

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday allowed an organisation of West Bengal government employees to hold an agitation near the state secretariat 'Nabanna' while directing them to wind up the sit-in demonstration by 4 pm on Saturday.

The members of the Sangrami Joutha Mancha started a dharna in the early hours of Friday near 'Nabanna', the state secretariat in Howrah with placards and posters in support of their demand for release of Dearness Allowance (DA) to state government employees at par with central government employees.

On a plea by the state's Advocate General to shift the agitation to an alternative venue, the bench directed that the agitators will be allowed to demonstrate at the place where they are sitting.

A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed Sangrami Joutha Mancha, the organisation holding the agitation, to wind up the sit-in demonstration by 4 pm on Saturday.

The division bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, while noting that the agitation has already commenced, said that it has to be kept in mind also that the festive season has commenced and Christmas celebrations are on.

The court directed that the demonstration should be peaceful and no derogatory slogans should be raised during the course of the agitation.

A single bench of the high court on Thursday gave conditional permission to the organisation to hold the demonstration, with regard to their prayer for increase in DA, at Nabanna bus terminus near the state secretariat for three days from Friday till Sunday.

The state government appealed against the order of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha before the division bench.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced an additional four per cent DA to the state government employees from January next.

The members of the Sangrami Joutha Mancha sat on the dharna near 'Nabanna', where the chief minister's office is located, with placards and posters and shouted slogans in support of their demand for release of DA at par with central government employees.

The organisation's convenor Bhaskar Ghosh claimed that even after the announcement by the chief minister for an additional four per cent DA to state government employees, there would remain a 36 percentage-point difference between the DA of state government and central government employees.

Justice Mantha directed the petitioners to adhere to their undertaking to ensure that there is absolutely no disruption to any traffic or any inconvenience to the public at large.

The court also noted that the petitioners also agreed to restrict the number of persons participating in the sit-in demonstration to 300.