Calcutta High Court Directs WB Chief Secretary To Give Timeline For Filling RERA, REAT Vacancies
On Tuesday, 15 September, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary's office to specify a timeline for filling vacancies in the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) and the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA).
A Division Bench comprising Justices Arijit Banerjee and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra directed the Chief Secretary's office to file a report indicating the status of appointments to the posts of REAT Chairperson and Judicial Member and a Member of WBRERA. The judges observed:
“Let the Office of the Chief Secretary file a report indicating the stage of filling up of vacancies in the aforesaid posts and also mentioning a time limit within which the vacancies will be filled up.”
The direction came in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Parasrampuria seeking expedited appointments to the West Bengal REAT and WBRERA. On 3 September, the High Court had directed the State's counsel to obtain instructions on the vacancies and listed the matter for further consideration on 15 September.
During the hearing yesterday, Senior Advocate Arindam Banerjee, appearing for Parasrampuria, submitted that numerous appeals had accumulated due to the vacancies and sought immediate directions for filling the posts.
Additional Government Pleader Susmita Saha Dutta, appearing for the State, informed the Bench that the selection process had been completed for the Judicial Member of the REAT and the Member of WBRERA. However, she did not have instructions regarding the appointment of the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal.
Banerjee referred to an RTI response from the State Public Information Officer of the West Bengal Housing Department, which stated that “the approval is presently awaited from the appropriate Authority of the State Government”.
Finding the response unclear, the Bench said:
“The aforesaid response is not quite clear to us. The report that we have asked for, should clarify the aforesaid issue.”
The High Court also allowed Parasrampuria to implead the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, as a party to the PIL. As the State's counsel was already representing the State and its officers, the judges dispensed with fresh service on the Chief Secretary.
The PIL will next be heard on 29 September 2026.
Appearances for petitioner (Rahul Parasrampuria): Senior Advocate Arindam Banerjee, Advocate Kuldip Mullick, Rohit Parasrampuria, Udit Agarwal, Debarshi Das, Atul Sureka, Saloni Agarwal, Somya Ojha.
Appearances for respondent (State of West Bengal & Others): Additional Government Pleader Susmita Saha Dutta and Advocates Niladri Saha, Madhurima Basu.