WPA/6926/2021 of ULUBERIA RURAL SOCIETY FOR CARE OF HEALTH AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND ORS Vs THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS on 1 October 2026

1. When the substratum of a challenge ceases to exist due to efflux of time and subsequent changed events, writ court does not engage in academic or hypothetical exercises.

2. The present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India in the year 2021, sought to assail notices and orders of requisition issued by the District Administration for utilizing the petitioners’ school premises as a polling reception and counting centre in connection with general election to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly 2021.

3. The timelines under challenge relates exclusively to an election cycle that concluded long ago. In the meantime the subsequent legislative assembly elections for the State of West Bengal have already duly notified, conducted and completed in April–May, 2026. Consequently, the specific subject matter of challenge in this writ application namely, the operational implementation of 2021 election requisition order has been completely diminished, rendering the reliefs prayed for entirely infructuous. No effective orders were now be passed to stall or undo which requisition process belonging to an election cycle passed earlier.

4. Accordingly, taking note of subsequent development and the post facto bar of maintainability due to academic redundancy, this writ petition deserved to be dismissed as infructuous.

5. All connected applications, if any, shall also be disposed of, accordingly.

6. Interim order, if any, stands vacated.

7. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all requisite formalities.

(UDAY KUMAR, J.)