Calcutta High Court Rules on Writ Classification for Highway Eviction Proceedings Under West Bengal Highways Act, 1964
Background and Context
The Calcutta High Court, in the matter of Rampada Sarkar @ Ramapada Sarkar & Anr. Vs State of West Bengal & Ors., addressed a significant procedural question concerning the proper classification of writ petitions involving eviction proceedings under the West Bengal Highways Act, 1964. The central issue before the Division Bench was whether such proceedings ought to be listed under Group I (land laws) or Group IX of the writ classification system applicable to the Calcutta High Court.
The appeal arose from an order dated 12 June 2023 passed in WPA 4491 of 2023, wherein a learned Single Judge directed the fifth respondent to consider and dispose of a representation submitted by the writ petitioner dated 9 November 2020, within three months from the date of communication of the order, after affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing to all interested parties.
The Core Dispute: Group I vs. Group IX Classification
Appellants' Contentions
The appellants challenged the impugned order primarily on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that the Single Judge lacked the competence to pass the order since the writ petition had been classified under Group I, whereas the subject matter — eviction proceedings under the West Bengal Highways Act, 1964 — properly belonged to Group IX.
In support of this position, the appellants' counsel advanced the following arguments:
Schedule B to the rules governing applications under Article 226 of the Constitution sets out a classification list for different categories of writ proceedings. Group I covers matters relating to land laws, and the sub-heads enumerated thereunder do not specifically include the West Bengal Highways Act, 1964.
The rules relating to Computerized Listing of the Cause List of the Appellate Side also did not, in the appellants' reading, permit classification of such proceedings under Group I.
Several earlier Single Judge orders were cited in support of the Group IX classification argument, including:
- Order dated 9 September 2013 in WP 27172(w) of 2013
- Order dated 19 September 2013 in WP 26936(w) of 2013
- Order dated 26 April 2022 in WPA 5943 of 2022
In each of these, Single Judges had released writ petitions concerning the West Bengal Highways Act, 1964 from Group I on the ground that they should be classified under Group IX.
The appellants also referred to the Division Bench proceedings in Prasanta Kumar Hait and Ors. Vs The State of West Bengal and Others (MAT 1292 of 2022), where an appeal arising from a writ petition under Group V had been entertained, and the recall order dated 5 December 2022 had confirmed that the Single Judge had determination under Group V.