The Publishers and Booksellers Guild is a private organisation entitled to decide the allocation of stalls at the Kolkata Book Fair, a lawyer for the guild told Calcutta High Court on Monday.
Justice Amrita Sinha was hearing a petition filed by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) alleging that the guild has declined to allot it a stall at the International Kolkata Book Fair this year.
The arguments are not over and the hearing will continue on Tuesday.
In its petition, the VHP had said the rejection amounted to a violation of Article 226 of the Constitution. The article gives high courts the power to issue writs to enforce fundamental rights.
“The petition (filed by the VHP) is not maintainable by the court because the guild is merely a private organisation and not a state-run body. Cases under Article 226 can only be filed against the State or any State-controlled body,” the counsel for the guild argued.
The lawyer also said that this year, the guild has decided not to allot any stall to “any political party and even religious apolitical organisations”.
“So, the question of allotting a stall to the Parishad does not arise,” he said.
During the previous hearing on Friday, Justice Sinha asked the guild to submit an affidavit by Monday stating whether it was ready to allot a stall to the VHP at the Kolkata Book Fair, scheduled to start on January 28 at Karunamoyee in Salt Lake.
The issue of maintainability of the petition came up for the first time on Monday, prompting the VHP lawyer to counter.
“Cases that involve alleged violation of a fundamental right can be moved against organisations that enjoy government facilities and support,” the VHP counsel said.
“The state government has earmarked land for the book fair. The guild gets the land at half the market rate,” the lawyer said.
Justice Sinha reminded both parties that the fair starts on January 28.
“Even after the arguments are over, I have to write the judgment. I want to deliver the judgment before January 28. Please keep that in mind,” she said in open court.