Calcutta High Court
WPLRT/151/2026 of BANDANA BHUNIA AND ANR. Vs THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS. on 24 August 2026
J(2) In the High Court at Calcutta Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction Appellate Side Present: The Hon’ble Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya And The Hon’ble Justice Sandip Kumar De WPLRT 151 of 2026 Bandana Bhunia and another Vs. The State of West Bengal and others For the petitioners :
Form No. J(2)
In the High Court at Calcutta
Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction
Appellate Side
Present:
The Hon’ble Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya
And
The Hon’ble Justice Sandip Kumar De
WPLRT 151 of 2026
Bandana Bhunia and another
Vs.
The State of West Bengal and others
For the petitioners
:
Mr. Arijit Chatterjee,
Ms. Soma Chowdhury (Bandhu),
Ms. Pronita Paramanya Naskar
For the State :
Mr. Nikunj Berlia, AGP,
Mr. Aditya Sen
Heard on
:
24.08.2026
Judgment on
:
24.08.2026
Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.:-
Citations and Judicial Treatment
Cited by
0
Decisions in the index citing it
Cites
0
Decisions referred to
In this index
0
Of the decisions it cites
Overruled / Questioned
0
No negative treatment found
Loading the citing and cited decisions…
This judgment in the centre: on the left the decisions it cites, on the right the decisions citing it. Colour is the treatment; choose a decision to open it.
1. Affidavit-of-service filed today be kept on record.
2. The scope of the present writ petition is innocuous. The learned Tribunal, while holding that the original application filed before the Tribunal by the writ petitioners could not be treated as an appeal and hence not maintainable, not only dismissed and disposed of the same but also made the observation that the petitioners are “illegal purchasers” of the “vested” land.
3. Learned counsel submits that in view of the Tribunal having dismissed the application for lack of jurisdiction on the ground of maintainability, such observations against the petitioners would tantamount to prejudging the issues involved and were made without jurisdiction.
4. Upon hearing learned counsel for the petitioners and the State, we find substance in the contention of the petitioners.
5. Since the learned Tribunal (rightly) dismissed the application on the ground of maintainability, there was no scope for the Tribunal to return any further finding as to the petitioners’ purchase being legal or illegal or the land being vested.
6. Hence, WPLRT 151 of 2026 is disposed of without otherwise interfering with the impugned judgment but modifying the same to the limited extent that the observations made in the impugned order regarding the petitioners being illegal purchasers and the subject land being vested stand expunged.
7. Nothing in the present judgment or the judgment of the learned Tribunal shall preclude the petitioners from taking out an appropriate challenge against the order of the B.L. & L.R.O before the appellate authority in accordance with law. We make it clear that the merits of the matter have not been entered into by this Court.
8. There will be no order as to costs.
9. Urgent photostat certified copies of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance with the requisite formalities.
(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.) I agree.
(Sandip Kumar De, J.)
AD-13 TN