The Calcutta High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by a property owner seeking to regularise an unauthorised multi-storey building, raising the penalty against him to Rs 1 lakh after determining that he used repetitive legal filings to obstruct court-mandated demolition.
A division bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Arjun Ray Mukherjee held that the building owner, Md Rafique, had abused the judicial process and exhibited disregard for the authority of the court by filing multiple applications to delay enforcement actions against the structure. The bench directed Rafique to deposit the Rs 1 lakh fine with the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, which will transfer the proceeds to the High Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee fund.
The ruling came in response to an appeal by Rafique challenging a September 16, 2025, single-judge order that had rejected his regularisation petition and imposed Rs 20,000 in costs.
Bench Rejects Bid to Regularise Extra Floors
During the proceedings, senior advocate Kishore Dutta, appearing for Rafique, contended that civic authorities could not proceed with demolition while an application seeking regularisation remained pending.
The division bench rejected this argument, observing that the owner had submitted the regularisation plea craftily to bypass earlier judicial orders mandating the removal of the unauthorised portions. The judges observed that the owner had actively impeded the process by filing repeated petitions before both the municipal corporation and the high court, and reiterated that initiating multiple proceedings to halt demolition constituted an abuse of the court.
The bench also voiced surprise that administrative authorities had waited so long to enforce the orders, noting that the illegal construction remained standing despite clear court directions.
Civic Body Reports Obstruction and Threats
Advocate Biswajit Mukherjee, representing the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, informed the court that municipal teams had initiated partial demolition at the site. However, he stated that personnel could not pull down the entire illegal structure due to resistance mounted by the owner, his associates, and his agents. The corporation’s counsel added that civic officials had been subjected to threats to their lives while attempting to carry out the court-ordered action.
The bench recalled that the single judge had ordered the demolition and that building residents had earlier been granted time to vacate solely on the basis of formal undertakings.
History of Sanction Violations and Prior Penalties
The dispute originated after municipal authorities sanctioned a building plan restricted to a ground floor and three upper storeys. Rafique subsequently erected a ground floor alongside six upper floors, significantly exceeding the approved limits. A petition was later moved before the high court alleging statutory violations by the builder.
On June 24, 2024, a single-judge bench instructed the municipal corporation to execute the demolition with assistance from local police. Residents of the building subsequently approached the high court, securing two months to vacate the premises after undertaking to find alternative housing. Rafique appealed that June 2024 directive, but a division bench dismissed his challenge and levied Rs 10,000 in costs.
Following that dismissal, Rafique filed another application requesting the regularisation of the unapproved floors. The single judge dismissed the plea on September 16, 2025, imposing Rs 20,000 in costs payable to the legal services authority. Rafique then challenged that ruling before the division bench to seek directions requiring the municipal body to regularise the additional levels or whatever remained of them, which the bench has now rejected with enhanced costs.
