The Calcutta High Court on Sunday ordered an immediate halt to the demolition of a five-storey building housing the constituency office of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district.
Presiding over a special Sunday sitting, Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury directed state authorities to maintain status quo at the Amtala property on Diamond Harbour Road. The interim order remains in effect until the end of July or until a regular bench takes up the matter for a formal hearing, whichever occurs first.
The legal challenge was mounted by Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, a company in which Banerjee serves as chief executive officer, according to Enforcement Directorate records from an unrelated case.
Demolition of the structure began on Saturday after South 24 Parganas district administration officials claimed the building was erected without an approved plan and in violation of local building codes. However, Banerjee, who represents the Diamond Harbour constituency, maintained that the office was constructed legally on purchased land after securing all necessary administrative approvals.
Conflicting Legal Arguments
During the emergency hearing, petitioner’s counsel Kishore Dutta argued that his client was never served a copy of the demolition order or the formal complaint that triggered the administration’s actions. Dutta contended that the property owners were unlawfully denied the opportunity to respond to the allegations or present their case before the demolition commenced.
Representing the West Bengal government, Advocate General Surojit Nath Mitra countered that the petitioner had received official notice of the proceedings and was fully aware of the demolition action. Mitra also argued that the firm had failed to produce any documentation proving the five-storey building had a sanctioned plan approved by the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.
Court Denies Relief On Alleged Looting
The court declined to intervene in separate claims made by the petitioner regarding security at the site during the demolition. The petition alleged that political workers and miscreants had ransacked the office and stolen documents while local police officers stood by without taking action.
Justice Chowdhury refused to grant relief on those grounds, pointing out that the petition contained no record of a formal complaint being lodged with the police regarding the alleged theft.
