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Kolkata, Oct 27 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Monday gave an ultimatum to the West Bengal government on payment of funds for the development of infrastructure of the High Court and lower courts in the state.
A division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Mohammed Shabbar Rashidi even warned the state government of freezing its accounts by the Reserve Bank of India.
Justice Basak told the state government counsel, “Ask the Chief Secretary to submit the account number. We will ask the RBI to seize that account.”
The division bench also directed Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Additional Chief Secretary Finance Prabhat Kumar Mishra to appear in person in the court on the next date of hearing, which is fixed for November 10.
The Division Bench took special note of the State Government’s non-payment of BSNL bills to the High Court for the last three years. “What if BSNL shuts down the service now? Isn’t it the responsibility of the state government to allocate funds for the development of the High Court?” Justice Basak asked.
He also said that if this is the condition of the Calcutta High Court, then the conditions of the lower courts can be easily understood.
Last month, the same bench had made it clear that it is the responsibility of the state government to release funds for the development of infrastructure of the High Court and lower courts in the state.
It was also observed that while only a small portion of the state budget is being allocated for the development of judicial infrastructure, there has been reluctance on the part of the state administration to release even that small amount on time.
The Division Bench said that the State should not treat this payment as a donation as it falls under the responsibility of the State Government to release funds for the development of infrastructure of the courts.
–IANS
Source/VD