The Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the West Bengal government to suspend all advertisements and campaigns against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Hearing a number of public interest litigation petitions clubbed together on the CAA, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Thottathil B. Nair Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee directed that such advertisements would not be given by the government till further orders.
The court also sought a detailed response from the government on the claims in the petitions that the campaign against the CAA was carried out using public money.
After the Act was passed in Parliament earlier this month, an advertisement by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the form of video messages saying the NRC and the CAA would not be implemented were aired on news channels.
The court said the Internet services should be restored in all areas of the State as the Director General of Police had said that the situation was peaceful.
Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted before the court that Internet services had been resumed.
In regard to damage to railway property in the violence during the anti-CAA protests that was reported from certain parts of the State, the court directed the railways to submit a report.
The matter will come up for hearing again before the Bench on January 9, 2020.
