STATE OF WEST BENGAL vs BANALATA INVESTMENT

The Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court's finding that the dispossession of the Writ Petitioners on 19th March 1991 was arbitrary and without legal process, emphasizing the necessity of adhering to the West Bengal (Public Land Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1962 for any eviction. The Court clarified that the Writ Petitioners were not tenants of the State Government under the West Bengal Government Premises Tenancy Regulation Act, 1976, and thus the provisions of the 1976 Act were not applicable. The Court affirmed the High Court's directive to not disturb the possession of the Writ Petitioners without following due legal process under the 1962 Act.