Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Chandan Roy Chowdhury vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 18 June, 2025
Author: Kausik Chanda
Bench: Kausik Chanda
18.06.2025
Sl. No.7
Ct. No.15
S.A.
WPA 5654 of 2025
Chandan Roy Chowdhury
-vs-
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Tanmoy Mukherjee
Ms. Utsa Dutta
Ms. Priyanka Sen
... for the petitioner
Ms. Mousumi Bhowal
...for the Municipality
Mr. Sounak Bhattacharya
Mr. Abhirup Halder
...for respondent no.7
Mr. Sandipan Banerjee ...for respondent nos.9 & 10 The petitioner challenges a demolition order dated January 15, 2025, issued by the Chairperson, South Dum Dum Municipality. It appears that the said order has been passed in compliance with an earlier order dated November 20, 2023, rendered by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in WPA 21470 of 2023 (Trinath Singh vs. State).
Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner assails the demolition order on the ground that the inspection report, based on which the said order was passed, was not served upon the petitioner.
A bare perusal of the demolition order dated January 15, 2025, also does not reflect that the inspection report was ever served upon the petitioner prior to the issuance of the order.
2It is further alleged by the petitioner that unauthorised portion of the building has already been regularised by the Municipality upon payment of a sum of Rs. 21,49,420 (Rupees twenty-one lakh forty- nine thousand four hundred and twenty only), and that an additional sum of Rs. 21,00,000 (Rupees twenty-one lakh only) has been demanded for further regularisation.
The petitioner contends that, in passing the demolition order, the Board of Councillors failed to take into account the fact that the alleged unauthorised construction had already been regularised by the Municipality. This allegation has been denied by learned counsel appearing for the Municipality.
On behalf of respondent nos. 9 and 10, the promoters of the building, it is submitted that they were neither heard nor notified by the Municipality prior to the issuance of the demolition order.
Learned counsel appearing for respondent no. 7, however, submits that the demolition order has been rightly passed by the Municipality.
In order to ascertain whether the demolition order dated January 15, 2025, pertains to any portion of the construction that has already been regularised by the Municipality, I appoint Mr. Bikram Banerjee (Mobile No.9831569508) as a Special Officer to 3 inspect the premises in question on June 28, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. in presence of the parties before this Court. The Special Officer shall not be required to issue any separate notice to the parties who are already represented before this Court.
The Municipality shall depute a competent engineer to remain present at the time of inspection. The parties shall provide the Special Officer with all relevant documents. The Special Officer, with the assistance of a qualified surveyor, shall take measurements of the relevant premises and file a report before this Court in terms of this order on the next date of hearing.
The Special Officer shall be paid a remuneration of Rs.35,000/- by the petitioner.
There shall be a stay of the operation of the demolition order for a period of two months from date.
Let this matter appear for further consideration on July 3, 2025.
(Kausik Chanda, J.)