Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Akd Subhas Chandra Chaudhuri vs The Serampore Municipality & Ors on 12 July, 2017
Author: Harish Tandon
Bench: Harish Tandon
1
06 12.07.17 W.P. 16829 (W) of 2017
Ct. No. 2
akd Subhas Chandra Chaudhuri
Vs.
The Serampore Municipality & Ors.
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Mr. Tapas Kumar Majumder.
... for the petitioner.
Mr. Goutam Lahiri, Ms. Sruti Lahiri, Mr. Niladri Saha.
... for the respondent nos. 2 & 3.
Mr. Asimes Goswami, Ms. Paulomi Banerjee, Ms. Priyanka Dutta.
... for the respondent nos. 6, 7 & 8.
Ms. Seema Adhikary, Mr. Milan Kumar Maity.
... for the State.
The petitioner has been knocking the doors of the Court of justice to redress his grievances and in fact approached this Court on an earlier occasion by filing a writ petition, being W.P. 7448 (W) of 2017, for direction upon the Chairman of the Serampore Municipality to consider the representation filed by the petitioner alleging unauthorized and illegal construction made by the private respondents.
The said writ petition was disposed of on 28th March, 2017 directing the Chairman of the said Municipality to consider the said representation and to dispose of the same within six weeks from the date of the communication of that order after affording an opportunity of hearing to the respective parties.
The present writ petition is filed challenging the order passed by the Chairman of the said Municipality in compliance with the said directions passed by this Court.
The Chairman held that there has been a construction of four number of Chajja at lintel level, but since the said construction does not affect any of 2 the rights of the petitioner, no further action was contemplated. It was further observed that such constructions have been done without any sanction and since the petitioner has failed to plead that such construction hampers his right, the Chairman thought that no further action is required to be taken.
This Court is ad idem with the observations of the Chairman that so far as the allegation of encroachment of a portion of the common passage as well as the property of the petitioner is concerned, the same being of civil nature should not be decided by him.
However, this Court cannot concur that once the Chairman of the said Municipality found that certain constructions are apparently unauthorized and illegal without any sanction, no action can be contemplated.
Section 218 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 confers power upon the Board of Councillors to pass an order for demolition, in the event the said construction is found to have been made in deviation from the permission or in contravention to any of the provisions of the said Act.
Once this Court directed the Chairman of the said Municipality to consider the representation, it is expected from him that the moment he prima facie found any unauthorized and illegal constructions, the matter would be placed before the appropriate authority for initiating a proceeding.
The Chairman appears to have assumed the full authority including discretionary power not to proceed in accordance with law and has closed the matter in cryptic and slipshod manner.
The order impugned is thus set aside. The Chairman of the Serampore Municipality is directed to consider the matter afresh after affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner as well as the private respondents and shall thereafter pass a reasoned order within six weeks from the date of the 3 communication of this order.
It is open to the Chairman to take consequential steps on the basis of the prima facie findings on the said representation and it is expected that such steps would be taken within a reasonable time.
For abundant precaution it is hereby made clear that none of the observations recorded hereinabove shall have persuasive effect on the merit of the said representation and it is open to the Chairman to decide the same independently and without being influenced by any observations made hereinabove.
The writ petition is thus disposed of. There will be no order as to costs.
(HARISH TANDON, J.)