The Calcutta High Court Monday suspended a notification issued by the West Bengal government restricting sale of Bengal-grown potatoes out of the state.
Hearing a writ petition filed by potato traders challenging the constitutionality of the notification, the court of Justice Sanjib Banerjee suspended the bar order and directed the petitioners and the state government to file their affidavits before Dec 3.
"The notification is a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to carry out any profession or occupation, trade and business within the territory of the country," said S. Bhattacharya, counsel for the potato traders.
"With the court issuing a stay, the government now cannot restrict the traders from selling the potatoes out of the state. The notification had caused heavy losses to traders," added Bhattacharya.
Following a crisis in the supply of potato, resulting in steep hike of its prices, the Mamata Banerjee government in October issued the notification to prevent the movement of the tuber out of the state.
The case will come up for hearing Dec 3.
