Calcutta High Court halts demolition at Abhishek Banerjee's office in Bengal

During an urgent hearing, the Calcutta High Court stayed the demolition work.

The Calcutta High Court on Sunday ordered status quo on the demolition of a building in South 24 Parganas district’s Amtala where Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee had his Lok Sabha constituency office, lawyers who attended the emergency hearing said.

The Calcutta High Court held a special hearing on Sunday to consider an urgent plea by Leaps and Bounds. (PTI)

An urgent writ petition seeking a stay on the demolition ordered by the district administration was filed by Leaps & Bounds — a company where Banerjee’s father Amit Banerjee is a director — which also had a large office in the building. The TMC also approached the bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury as a pro forma respondent.

"Appearing for Leaps & Bounds, former state advocate general Kishor Dutta told the court that the demolition was carried out illegally without serving any notice to the company. The court directed that all demolition activities must stop and ordered the parties to maintain status quo until further orders or the next hearing. The matter will be heard again after the government files its response," a lawyer said, requesting anonymity.

The case was specially assigned for hearing on Sunday morning after Leaps & Bounds and the TMC sought the court’s intervention.

On Saturday, the South 24 Parganas district administration demolished the party Banerjee's office at Amtala after it was found to be constructed allegedly without an approved building plan and in violation of applicable rules.

The operation began Saturday morning, with police and central forces cordoning off the office premises with guard rails.

Around noon, three bulldozers were brought in, and the administration started dismantling the shed in front of the office, followed by demolition of the front portion of the structure. The Fire and Emergency Services personnel were also present as a precautionary measure.

A senior state government official said the action was carried out after completing the due administrative process.

“The administration has proceeded (with the demolition) in accordance with the applicable laws and after following the required procedures. The action is related to alleged violations of construction norms and is not connected with any political consideration,”