KOLKATA: There is no place for social boycott of a citizen in a civilized society, the Calcutta high court said Wednesday while addressing a case where a man faced ostracism for reporting illegal temple construction in front of his property in the Arambag area of Bengal’s Hooghly.
“Any social boycott of a citizen or his family member has to be dealt with strictly by the administration. This has no place in a civilised society,” said Justice Jay Sengupta, directing police to maintain vigilant patrols to prevent any breach of peace or violation of the civil court order in the area.
Petitioner Ranajit Mondal owns property in Arambag and had raised concerns about the unauthorised construction of a temple in front of his premises. Somnath Mukherjee, his advocate, informed the court that despite filing a case, his client was facing disturbances, including social boycott by locals, including the respondents.
“This is not permissible in law,” Justice Sengupta firmly stated, while noting that Mondal had obtained an interim order of injunction against the construction in November 2022 from an Arambag civil court, which mandated a status quo for a passageway leading to the temple.
The HC emphasised that parties must address property-related issues through the civil court and not resort to taking the law into their own hands.
“Any social boycott of a citizen or his family member has to be dealt with strictly by the administration. This has no place in a civilised society,” said Justice Jay Sengupta, directing police to maintain vigilant patrols to prevent any breach of peace or violation of the civil court order in the area.
Petitioner Ranajit Mondal owns property in Arambag and had raised concerns about the unauthorised construction of a temple in front of his premises. Somnath Mukherjee, his advocate, informed the court that despite filing a case, his client was facing disturbances, including social boycott by locals, including the respondents.
“This is not permissible in law,” Justice Sengupta firmly stated, while noting that Mondal had obtained an interim order of injunction against the construction in November 2022 from an Arambag civil court, which mandated a status quo for a passageway leading to the temple.
The HC emphasised that parties must address property-related issues through the civil court and not resort to taking the law into their own hands.
