SC Pulls Up Bengal Govt for Creating ‘Roadblocks’, Says ‘Don’t Politicise Everything’
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday pulled down the West Bengal government for “creating roadblocks” in the ongoing construction corridor of the Kolkata Metro rail project and asked it not to politicize a development issue that is beneficial to the common man. Rejecting the state government’s request, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi asked the Calcutta High Court to supervise the construction of the project.
“We are just stating that the high court has been very generous to you (the state government). This was a proper case in which your chief secretary, DGP and other officials should have been subjected to some action.
“This shows complete dereliction of your constitutional duty. You are shirking your responsibilities. This is just an attempt to politicize an issue where there is no such issue. We do not appreciate the state government politicizing a development-related issue that is beneficial for the common man,” the CJI told the lawyer speaking on behalf of the Bengal government. he said.
CJI Kant said, “We should not politicize everything. This is a developmental issue. It is a convenience for the common man. Do not create roadblocks.”
When the lawyer tried to argue that the state was subject to model codes of conduct for the upcoming elections and that the board’s investigations were ongoing, the bench pointed out that the high court order was dated December 23, 2025 and asked, “What prevented the state government from complying with the directions since then?”
Justice Bagchi said that the Election Commission of India cannot object to this ongoing development project which is being monitored by the apex court.
“For you, festivals are more important than development. You are not willing, you have a duty. You told the Supreme Court that there are festivals. Is the festival more important than the construction of a transportation artery?
“We do not appreciate a democratically elected government knocking on the door of the court and asking for this to be ignored. The Election Commission will have no difficulty in giving permission to the project. This was a project initiated before the model of conduct came into force. We will not allow the state to use this as a bogeyman to stall development again,” Justice Bagchi said. he said.
The state government’s advisor said the project could not proceed as roads for ambulances and emergency vehicles would be closed for construction.
He sought time till May to comply with the high court’s directions, but the high court rejected the prayer and said the state government’s appeal against the December 23, 2025 order would be rejected.
“This only shows the stubborn attitude of the authorities who want to delay and stall the Metro rail project in Kolkata. There is no impropriety in the order passed by the high court; we are confident that the project will be completed on time,” the bench said. he said.
The high court on December 23 expressed concern over the delay in completion of the project connecting the IT hub of Sector V in Salt Lake to large areas in south Kolkata due to impasse over police barricade clearance and directed the work to be completed by February 15, 2026.
State authorities have been instructed to inform the Metro Railway by January 6 that a traffic ban will be imposed for the required three days to complete work on the busy Chingrighata crossing on the Eastern Metropolitan ring road.
The court ordered the completion of the construction of the upper metro lines by February 15, 2026.
The petitioners in the PIL alleged that even though the work on the Metro line connecting Kavi Subhash to Sector V has been largely completed, the impasse over construction at the Chingrighata pass along the EM ring road has been pending for a long time.
