Dismissing the PIL, a division bench of Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose said that the petitioner, advocate Tapash Kumar Chatterjee, has no right to file such a PIL and that it was not maintainable. The Bench said that the reasons cited in the petition for challenging the government’s February 9 decision had no legal foundation.

The Chief Justice also reminded the petitioner that the court had stopped the fair from being held at the Park Circus Maidan for a different reason.

Following this, the state governnment had announced in February through a notification that the fair will be held at Salt Lake Stadium from March 1. The transport and sports departments will organise the fair with the active participation of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild.

Moving the plea on Thursday, Chatterjee wondered how the state government could organise such a fair without discussing the matter in the Cabinet. The state Cabinet had not approved the decision to hold the fair at Salt Lake Stadium, he added.

He also pointed out that the stadium is the state government property and is meant for sports events only.