Kolkata, October 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit in a case concerning allegations of a sudden shortage of Rs 10 and Rs 20 stamp papers in the market.
The matter came up for hearing before a division vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the bench directed the state government to submit its affidavit by November 20. The petitioner was also asked to file an affidavit by November 27. The next hearing has been scheduled for December 11.
The petition was filed by Surjit Mandal, who alleged that more than 25,000 stamp papers had been collected from authorised vendors with the assistance of the police and subsequently sent to various police stations, creating difficulties for members of the public seeking to obtain them.
According to the petition, the collection was linked to proceedings concerning the name and election symbol of the Trinamool Congress, in which an affidavit had allegedly been sought by the Supreme Court.
The petition also accused the Democratic Trinamool Congress faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee of collecting stamp papers in large quantities, allegedly with the influence of the state administration and police, for affidavits relating to statements by Trinamool Congress supporters.
The petitioner further alleged that, because the faction had limited numbers of supporters, police personnel were going door to door to get ordinary Trinamool Congress workers to sign the stamp papers.
Questioning the legality of the alleged collection and use of the documents, Mandal argued that specific laws and registration rules governed stamp paper transactions and claimed that the process described in the petition did not comply with those provisions.
He urged the High Court to direct the police to stop the process and order the confiscation of stamp papers already collected.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the West Bengal government rejected the allegations and informed the court that it intended to submit a detailed report. The bench subsequently directed the state to file its affidavit within the stipulated deadline.
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