KOLKATA: In an incident reminiscent of the Hindi movie, Oh My God!, wherein a court case is
filed against god, the Calcutta High Court has heard a petition involving Goddess Kali. However, unlike in the film, in which a shop owner sues god after his store is destroyed in an earthquake, the recent
legal battle featured Goddess Kali as a complainant.
The petition was filed against the owners of shops located on the premises of the Kali temple at Bishnupur in South 24 Parganas for non-payment of rent. The caretaker of the temple figured as the
co-petitioner, and claimed to be the representative of the goddess.
The court, during the hearing of the case, did not raise any questions about Goddess Kali being the petitioner. Justice Rajashekhar Mantha passed an order in her favour, asking the officer in-charge of the local police station to ensure that rent is collected from the owners of the permanent stalls and given to the temple.
According to court records, the temple of Sree Sree Anandamoyee Dadkhina Kalimata Tahakurani was established in 1995 by Panchanan Chakrabarty. He later purchased three acres of adjoining land in the name of the temple in 2002, where 150 permanent and 250 temporary stalls were rented out by the temple’s management committee. The rent was deposited in the name of the temple.
After Chakrabarty’s death, a dispute arose between his children, Kanailal and Satyendranath, surfaced in 2010. Kanailal moved Alipore court seeking authorisation to run the temple and its development work. This was challenged by his brother. The lower court appointed two receivers in 2019 which failed to sort out the issue.
“Satyendranath was collecting rent from shop owners illegally and was not giving any fund to the temple. He was depriving Goddess Kali. I complained to local police station, gram panchayat and higher authorities, but no one came forward to solve the issue,” Kanailal said.
He then decided to move the Calcutta High Court. “Since Goddess Kali was being deprived and she was the victim, I decided to submit the petition in her name. I am the co-petitioner who represented the deity in the court,” Kanailal added.
No question raised about deity being petitioner
The petition was filed against the owners of shops located on the premises of the Kali temple at Bishnupur in South 24 Parganas for non-payment of rent. The court, during the hearing of the case, did not raise any questions about Goddess Kali being the petitioner. Justice Rajashekhar Mantha passed an order in her favour, asking the officer in-charge of the local police station to ensure that rent is collected from the owners of the permanent stalls and given to the temple.