(1.) By this application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, one Sabyasachi Roychowdhury, an Advocate of this Court has prayed for a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents and/or their men, agents or subordinates to cancel, withdraw and rescind the permission as granted to hold Book Fair at Kolkata Maidan from January 31, 2007 to February 11, 2007. The writ petitioner has further prayed for direction upon the State-respondents not to allow the respondent No. 8 to hold Book Fair at Kolkata Maidan.
(2.) The facts giving rise to filing of this writ application may be epitomized thus: (a) In the month of December, 2006 the respondent No. 8 before us, filed another writ application describing that as a Public Interest Litigation being W. P. No. 28512 (W) of 2006 thereby praying for a mandamus commanding the respondents their servants etc. to implement the consensus/ agreement recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting of Kolkata Book Fair, 2007 held on November 9, 2006, a copy whereof was annexed thereto and marked as P-3 and for a direction to take all steps for holding the 32nd Book Fair for the year 2007 at its original venue at Kolkata Maidan at Outram Road at the crossing of Park Street and Jawaharlal Nehru Road forthwith.
(3.) The case made out by the respondent No. 8 in the said writ application was that the said respondent No. 8 was an Association of Publishers and Booksellers Guild of Kolkata and a society duly registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 by the Registrar of Firms, Societies and Non-Trading Corporation, West Bengal and such Society was formed mainly with the object of promoting professional standard amongst the members, to co-operate for mutual benefit with other organizers concerned in the creation, protection and distribution of books, to encourage the spread of literacy and education in India and throughout the World, to provide the assistance and consultancy service to spotlight future needs, to initiate new techniques and applications and to improve the technical and educational qualification of the members of the Guild and their staff etc. According to the respondent No. 8, from the year 1976 it had been taking the entire responsibility for holding a Book Fair at the Maidan of Kolkata and for the purpose of holding such fair for the year 2007 the respondent No. 8 duly issued prospectus to all concerned. The respondent No. 8 claimed that for holding the Book Fair at Maidan, the site of Outram Road at the crossing of Park Street and Jawaharlal Nehru Road was immensely necessary not only for the convenience of 25 lakhs of visitors but also for the fact that the required area of the ground worked out to be 1135.69 sq. meter or 28 acres approximately and that no other suitable area was available in any other part of the Kolkata.