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Calcutta High Court likens Congress-TMC Nowda office row to Delhi 'masnad', declines to direct police

The Calcutta High Court refused Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's plea for police help to regain a party office in Nowda, Murshidabad, which he said was taken over by the TMC in 2018. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya compared the dispute to the historical Delhi 'masnad' and directed Chowdhury to approach the civil court, while ordering police to maintain peace in the area.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 31, 2026 Published 1h ago

Court declines to direct police in Nowda party office dispute

The Calcutta High Court on Monday refused to direct police to restore possession of a Congress party office at Nowda in Murshidabad district, a plea made by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who claimed the office was taken over by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 2018.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, presiding over a single-judge bench, said the court was not inclined to direct the police to vacate the premises and hand it over to the Congress. The judge observed that the petitioner could approach the civil court to assert his party's right over the property if the building was occupied by another party.

Chowdhury had approached the court seeking directions to allow the Congress to use the party office, submitting that the office belonged to the party. He claimed that the Congress was dispossessed of the office, which the party had constructed at Nowda in 2004.

Historical comparison in court's observation

During the hearing, the court reportedly commented on the prolonged occupation of the office, comparing the situation to the battle for the Delhi throne before Independence. Justice Bhattacharyya was quoted as saying, "It's like the Delhi masnad. First the Ghori dynasty, then the Sultanate, then Mughals and then the British."

The observation came after Chowdhury's lawyer stated that Congress workers had attempted to repossess the office following the TMC's defeat in the state assembly elections but were unable to do so. The judge noted that the TMC had been in occupation of the office since 2018, and that the court could not direct police to vacate the premises merely because of a change in the ruling dispensation in West Bengal.

Allegations against former Congress leader

Chowdhury alleged that Abu Taher Khan, a former Murshidabad district president of the Congress, joined the TMC in 2018 and, as an MP of the then-ruling party in the state, forcefully took control of the party office. The allegation was reported in the context of the court proceedings.

Police directed to maintain peace

The court directed the police authorities to maintain peace and tranquillity in the locality and to ensure no untoward incident takes place, according to reports.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Times Now

Framing: Emphasizes the court's historical analogy, framing the dispute as a battle for power.

as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC

Facts Included:

The Calcutta High Court on Monday compared the fight between the Congress and the TMC for a party office to the battle for the Delhi throne before Independence.
The court refused Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's prayer for direction to the police to restore possession of a party office at Nowda in Murshidabad district, which he claimed the TMC took over in 2018.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya said the court is not inclined to direct the police authorities to take such steps.
The court observed that the petitioner may move the civil court to assert their right over the property in question if they claim the building was occupied by any other party.
The court directed the police authority to maintain peace and tranquillity in the locality and to ensure no untoward incident takes place.
Chowdhury claimed that the Congress was dispossessed of its party office, which it had constructed in 2004 at Nowda.
It was alleged that Abu Taher Khan, a former Murshidabad district president of the Congress, joined the TMC in 2018 and, as an MP of the ruling party in the state then, had forcefully taken control of the party office.
Justice Bhattacharyya verbally observed that the situation resembled the battle for the Delhi throne.
The judge said that if the Congress party has any dispute over occupation of the party office in question, it should remember that the TMC was in occupation of the office from 2018.
He said that the court cannot direct the police authorities to vacate the said premises and hand it over to the Congress just because there is a change in ruling dispensation in West Bengal.

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The Times of India

Framing: Headline highlights the High Court's historical comparison of the Nowda office dispute to the Delhi 'masnad'.

as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Calcutta HC on Monday referred to the dispute over Congress’s Nowda party office as akin to the Delhi ‘masnad’
The court refused to interfere in Congress neta Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s case, directing him to approach the civil court.
Chowdhury had approached the HC seeking directions to let Congress use a party office in Nowda, submitting that the office belonged to the party.
The party office was first occupied by MP Abu Taher Khan, who joined Trinamool in 2018.
Justice Bhattacharya observed, 'It’s like the Delhi masnad. First the Ghori dynasty, then the Sultanate, then Mughals and then the British. Congress was not in occupation from 2018. Today, by taking advantage of a change in the ruling dispensation, this court cannot direct police to vacate the party office so that you can occupy the same.'

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What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimCalcutta High Court Judge Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya on Monday compared the fight between the Congress and the TMC for a party office to the battle for the Delhi throne before Independence.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC
ClaimThe Calcutta High Court refused Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's prayer for a direction to the police to restore possession of a Congress party office at Nowda in Murshidabad district, which he claimed the TMC took over in 2018.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC
ClaimJustice Saugata Bhattacharyya said the court is not inclined to direct the police authorities to take such steps and directed the petitioner to approach the civil court to assert their right over the property.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC
ClaimJustice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed the police to maintain peace and tranquillity in the locality and to ensure no untoward incident takes place.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC
ClaimAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that the Congress was dispossessed of its party office, which it had constructed in 2004 at Nowda.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC
ClaimIt was alleged that Abu Taher Khan, a former Murshidabad district president of the Congress, joined the TMC in 2018 and, as an MP of the ruling party in the state then, had forcefully taken control of the party office.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC
ClaimJustice Bhattacharyya observed that the court cannot direct the police to vacate the office just because there has been a change in the ruling dispensation in West Bengal.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Times Now as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:45 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Times Now, The Times of India 7 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-31