Synopsis
The Calcutta High Court has rejected the Vishva Hindu Parishad's request for a stall at the Kolkata International Book Fair. This decision follows a similar rejection of a stall application from the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights.Key Takeaways
- Calcutta High Court denies VHP stall request.
- Justice Amrita Sinha presided over the case.
- APDR also faced stall rejection.
- The book fair will run from January 28 to February 9.
- Germany is this year's theme country.
Kolkata, Jan 24 (NationPress) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, denied the request from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for a stall at the upcoming Kolkata International Book Fair, which is being organized by the Publishers & Booksellers Guild.
Previously, the same bench led by Justice Amrita Sinha had also turned down a request from the human rights organization Association for Protection of Democratic Right (APDR) to secure a stall at this annual gathering.
Both VHP and APDR approached the Calcutta High Court following the rejection of their stall applications by the Guild Authorities.
In her ruling against VHP’s appeal, Justice Sinha noted that the correct procedures for filing the petition against the guild authorities were not adhered to.
The bench also questioned the legitimacy of the petition against the Publishers & Booksellers Guild, which operates as a private entity.
In a previous ruling regarding APDR’s similar petition earlier this month, Justice Sinha stated that since the book fair is a private event and not government-run, APDR's petition lacked validity and was consequently dismissed. The Kolkata International Book Fair is set to take place from January 28 to February 9.
This year, with Germany as the theme country, the Publishers & Booksellers Guild has received confirmations from various nations, including the UK, US, France, Italy, Spain, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia, but none from publishers in Bangladesh.
Germany was selected as the theme country because the Kolkata Book Fair, which commenced in 1976, was inspired by the world’s inaugural book fair held in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1949.
There will be 1,050 book stalls at this year's fair.
As in previous years, the event will be inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
