A division bench of Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi heard the petition, Surajit Mondal v. State of West Bengal & Ors. (WPA(P) 506 of 2026), on October 20 and directed the State government to file its affidavit-in-opposition, along with specific objections to the maintainability of the PIL. The bench said it would consider maintainability first and take up the other issues only if the petition is held to be maintainable.

According to the petition, filed by Surajit Mondal, an elected member of the Zilla Parishad in Hooghly, the Supreme Court had directed the parties in the faction dispute to file their pleadings and affidavits before the Election Commission of India in Dispute Case No. 1 of 2026. The petitioner alleges — this is an allegation, not a finding of the court — that in a concerted effort to manufacture support for one faction, unwritten and unlawful directions were issued by senior State government officials to District Magistrates, Sub-Registry offices and stamp vendors to issue approximately 25,000 stamp papers of Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations without making entries in the statutory registers.

The petition further alleges that the stamp papers were handed over to local police personnel, particularly the officers named as Respondents Nos. 11 to 14, who allegedly used their official positions and coercive powers to obtain signatures from TMC workers and members of the public on affidavits supporting the faction in question. Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that lakhs of stamp papers had been issued without serialized entries in the appropriate registers, and asked the court to call for a report from the State detailing the entries in the sub-registries.

The bench observed: 'Stamp papers can only be sold by licensed stamp vendors. The sale of stamp papers must be there in the register. Show us whether you are doing this.' The dispute behind the case is a claim by a rebel faction, led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, that it is the original Trinamool Congress and is entitled to the party's symbol — a question pending before the Election Commission, where the number of supporting affidavits could affect the outcome.

The State government opposed the maintainability of the PIL, relying on the Supreme Court's judgment in State of Jharkhand v. Shiv Shankar Sharma, and sought time to file its response. The court permitted the State to file its affidavit-in-opposition by November 20, 2026, allowed the petitioner to file a rejoinder by November 30, and listed the matter in the urgent admission category on December 11, 2026. The petitioner has claimed the alleged actions violate the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, undermine the rule of law and interfere with proceedings before a constitutional body, and has sought the court's intervention to stop the alleged practice and direct an independent inquiry. The allegations have not been adjudicated. Sources: Live Law; Bar and Bench.