Calcutta High Court seeks affidavit as state is yet to decide mid-day meal contract for ISKCON

Calcutta High Court Calcutta. File. | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) ordered the West Bengal government to file an affidavit after the state said that no decision has yet been taken to hand over the PM-POSHAN (mid-day meal) program in Kolkata schools to ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).

The direction was approved by a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Sirsanya Bandopadhyay challenging the West Bengal government’s proposal to hand over the responsibility of food preparation for the PM-POSHAN program in Kolkata to ISKCON.

The petition alleged that the move would mean depriving students of eggs under the scheme and loss of livelihood for thousands of self-help group (SHG) members engaged in preparing mid-day meals.

Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, appearing for the petitioner, said the objective of the PM-POSHAN scheme is not only to provide nutritious meals to school children but also to create employment for women through self-help groups.

In response, the court requested an official notification of the matter. However, Advocate General Surojit Nath Mitra told the court that “so far no decision has been taken in this regard. Therefore, the entire petition is premature and proceeding on the basis of assumption”.

He said a clause in the scheme allows for the use of centralized kitchens in urban areas where schools have cooking facilities and that such kitchens can be run using a PPP (public private partnership) model.

However, Mr. Bandopadhyay claimed that the Chief Minister had already announced the proposal on the floor of the State Assembly and that when ISKCON got the job, all SHG workers and women would be removed.

“Let them file an affidavit that Mr. Chairman did not make such a statement. That cannot be disputed. That is not up to the Bar. That is the record, says the CM,” he argued.

The court adjourned the matter for four weeks and ordered the state to file an affidavit in this regard.

The announcement of ISKCON’s involvement was made in the state budget presented by Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta on 22 June.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the proposal and said, “Children will get good food under the mid-day meal scheme.”

However, the proposal drew criticism from opposition parties, particularly the Trinamool Congress, which claimed that it was an attempt by the BJP government to introduce vegetarianism as ISCKON would stop providing eggs under the scheme.

Published – 8 July 2026 10:30 PM IST