Authority: Calcutta High Court, Court No.12
Order Date: 15 October 2026
Case Overview
- Parties: Appellant Raj Agarwal alias Rajesh Agarwal vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors., with Bally Municipality as a respondent.
- Counsel: Ms. Upasana Shaw and Mr. Rishabh Karnani for the appellant; Dr. Madhusudan Saha Ray and Ms. Shruti Dutta for the State; Mr. Ayan Banerjee, Ms. Debasree Dhamali and Ms. Riya Ghosh for Bally Municipality.
- The appeal challenges an order dated 21 September 2026 issued in WPA 15797 of 2026.
- An affidavit of service was recorded, but private respondents failed to appear despite being served.
- Central issues: (a) ensuring that the ingress and egress to the appellant’s garage remain unobstructed by construction or debris; (b) determining whether the municipality has a statutory duty to remove garbage and debris from the compound and to enforce civic duties of residents to prevent health hazards.
- The court noted that matters of public health, sanitation, and hygiene fall within the municipality’s purview.
Final Outcome
- The appeal is disposed with a specific direction to Bally Municipality to keep the appellant’s garage access free from any obstruction caused by construction or stacked debris.
- The portion of the earlier order that disposed of the writ petition is set aside.
- The matter is remanded for a decision on the limited issue of whether the municipality has a statutory duty to ensure residents perform civic duties and not create nuisance or health hazards, including whether stacking garbage constitutes a public tort imposing a duty on the municipality.
- Consequently, the appeal and the connected application are disposed, and the writ petition is remanded.
- All parties are directed to act based on the server copy of this order.
Topics: Municipal Duty, Public Health, Sanitation