Authority: Calcutta High Court (Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya)
Order Date: 29 September 2026
Case Overview
- Petitioners: West Bengal M.R. Distributors' Association & Anr., represented by advocates Biswaroop Bhattacharyya and Abhijhit Roy Choudhury.
- Respondents: State of West Bengal & Ors., represented by counsel; Respondent No. 8 represented by advocate Sirsanya Bandopadhyay.
- Petition sought direction under Section 175(3) of the Bengal Narcotic Substances (BNSS) Act 2023 for police to register an FIR after alleged inaction on a complaint.
- Respondent No. 8 raised a preliminary maintainability issue, citing the availability of an alternative remedy under the same statutory provision and the Supreme Court judgment Sujal Vishwas Attavar v. State of Maharashtra (2026 SCC OnLine SC 798).
Findings
- The Court affirmed the settled legal principle that when a complaint is not converted into an FIR and police inaction is alleged, the aggrieved party must approach the jurisdictional magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS 2023, as reiterated in paragraph‑7 of Sujal Vishwas Attavar.
- Since an alternative remedy exists, the writ petition is not maintainable.
Final Outcome
- The writ petition is dismissed.
- The order expressly states that dismissal does not preclude the petitioners from pursuing the remedy before the jurisdictional magistrate; the petitioners have already filed an application under Section 175(3) BNSS 2023.
- Parties are directed to act on the server copy of this order downloaded from the Court’s official website.
Topics: Legal Remedy, Police FIR