The Calcutta High Court on Thursday disposed of a PIL that alleged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made some unsavoury comments about a monk at an election rally, observing that such matters cannot be dealt with in a public interest litigation.

Appearing for the chief minister, Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted that the PIL alleged that the chief minister had said something regarding a particular monk during an election rally.

The PIL sought a direction from the court to ensure the sanctity of the society at large is maintained and no particular community is made the object of humiliation because of their affiliation to some specific religious and spiritual organisations.

Disposing of the petition, a division bench presided by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam said that such matters cannot be dealt with in a public interest litigation and as such the relief sought cannot be granted.

The bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, said that it will, however, be open to the petitioner to adopt other means of voicing his grievance.

The south Bengal unit of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) moved the court over Banerjee's comments allegedly against a monk based in Murshidabad district while addressing a public meeting during the Lok Sabha elections.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.