FIR lodged at Mamata Banerjee’s Martyrs’ Day rally for alleged violation of Supreme Court order

Former chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee speaks during the 21st July Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata on Tuesday (July 21, 2026). | Photo credit: ANI

Calcutta

Kolkata Police on Thursday (July 23, 2026) registered an FIR over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Martyrs’ Day rally, which allegedly violated a Calcutta High Court order. The order stipulated that the rally could only block one side of the road while traffic was allowed to move on the other side. However, on Tuesday 21 July 2026, both lanes at the Birla Planetarium remained blocked during the programme.

The police filed a suo motu complaint against the Trinamool Congress faction led by Ms. Banerjee at the Hastings police station. Cathedral Road, outside the Birla Planetarium in the heart of the city, remained blocked from both sides after the program began. This led to traffic disruption with vehicles on both sides of the road being delayed for several hours.

Traffic police diverted vehicles to ensure smooth movement in other parts of the city. According to sources, the rally also exceeded the permitted attendance limit.

In a related development, the Hastings police station also registered another suo motu FIR over alleged vandalism at the rally stage on the night of July 20 before the event.

The court dismissed Abhishek Banerjee’s plea

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday also stayed Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s plea seeking protection from coercive action in connection with eight FIRs.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya told Mr. Banerjee’s counsel that all the eight FIRs could not be joined together and would be considered on a case-by-case basis. The matter was adjourned until July 30. However, the court asked to be informed if any coercive measures were used, but did not grant him protection.

Earlier on May 21, the same court granted protection to Mr. Banerjee in a case where an FIR was registered against him for alleged inflammatory remarks made during the West Bengal Assembly elections. Protection remains in effect until July 31. However, the court ordered him to cooperate with the investigation, noting that if he did not, the protection could be withdrawn.

In other cases, however, similar protection was not extended. Ever since the Trinamool Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party on May 4, several cases have been registered against Mr. Banerjee at various police stations across the state.

Published – 23 Jul 2026 19:34 IST