Calcutta HC Stays Abhishek’s Party Office Demolition
The Calcutta High Court has stayed the demolition of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s party office in South 24 Parganas, directing status quo until the next hearing later this month.
Kolkata, July 19: The Calcutta High Court on Sunday halted the demolition of Diamond Harbour Trinamul Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's main party office at his parliamentary constituency in South 24 Parganas of West Bengal over the complaint of illegal occupation.
Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury of the HC ordered the status quo on the demolition at the four-storeyed building on Diamond Harbour Road in Amtala by the district administration till the matter comes up for hearing or the end of this month, whichever is earlier.
The judge however refused to entertain Mr Banerjee's allegations of looting by a mob at his party office during the demolition on Saturday after he observed that his petition did not mention any complaint lodged with the police about it.
His order came after Leaps and Bounds, a private firm which is owned by Mr Banerjee and which had bought the land to build his party office, opposed the district administration’s action during an urgent hearing at the HC.
The firm, represented by Kishor Dutta, moved the HC following a fresh start of the demolition a day after it began. Mr Banerjee already sent a demolition video to the HC on Saturday, called the action illegal and threatened to challenge it legally.
During the hearing, Mr Dutta claimed that Mr Banerjee's office was constructed legally on a purchased land and after obtaining necessary permissions. He also submitted that his client got neither a copy of the complaint necessitating the demolition nor the demolition order.
State advocate general Surojit Nath Mitra however pointed out that the petitioner already knew of the demolition proceedings after he was issued a notice and failed to demonstrate that the construction was in accordance with a sanctioned building plan issued by the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.
