Kolkata Book fair: SC issues notice to WB govt

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today issued notices to West Bengal government and other respondents in a case, in which, Calcutta High Court had banned the Kolkata Book Fair - one of the largest in the world - at Park Circus Maidan in January 2008.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan today admitted a petition challenging High Court's verdict, and sought reply from all respondents within fours weeks. The court has issued notices while admitting this petition filed by the publishers, who took part in that fair.
Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had disallowed holding of the book fair at Park Circus Maidan in Kolkata saying it violates environmental norms and fundamental rights of the residents of that area.

The high court was acting on a PIL filed by the local residents who sought revocation of permission for holding the fair at Park Circus. The High Court had observed that holding of the huge fair, which attracts lakhs of visitors daily, would be violative of Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 21 (right to life in a congenial environment) of the Constitution.
The fair has been in trouble for the last couple of years over its venue. It was uprooted from the Maidan in the heart of the metropolis in 2007 on the ground of environmental pollution and then shifted to Salt Lake, and has again been denied a new address in the metropolis.

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