Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to restore the roof of a flat that was damaged during demolition of an allegedly unauthorised construction, holding that the municipal authorities acted in a "most reckless manner" by failing to verify their own records before ordering demolition.
The Court, however, left the flat owner's claim for damages open to be pursued before the appropriate forum.
"It is utterly shocking that an officer of the municipality who passed the order of demolition without bothering to even consult its own records would take shelter by claiming that none had brought the same to his notice," the court observed, as reported by Live Law.
Petitioner's case
The matter was heard by Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury. The case is related to a writ petition filed by Tapas Mazumdar, who purchased a fourth-floor flat in a residential building at Ananda Palit Road, Kolkata. The petitioner contended that although his flat formed part of the sanctioned G+4 structure, its roof was demolished when KMC carried out demolition of unauthorised construction allegedly raised by the developer on the upper floors.
The petitioner argued that he bought the flat after verifying the sanctioned building plan and later secured mutation in the KMC records. He claimed that the developer subsequently carried out unauthorised construction beyond the approved plan, leading the KMC to initiate demolition proceedings. However, during the demolition drive, the roof of his legally sanctioned flat was also torn down.
KMC's defence
The civic body, however, defended the demolition, arguing that the sanctioned building permit had expired long ago and that the removal of the fifth-floor structure was therefore legally justified.
Court's findings and directions
The Court held that the authorities could not defend the demolition by citing fresh grounds in affidavits that were absent from the original demolition order. It observed that the order did not determine whether the construction had been carried out after the sanctioned building plan had expired and instead revealed the officer's failure to verify the Corporation's own records.
Accordingly, the Court directed KMC to restore the roof of the petitioner's damaged flat within eight weeks. It also ordered the Executive Engineer to certify that the restoration work had been completed.
