The commercial building at Kolkata's Camac Street where Abhishek Banerjee's office is located.

Calcutta HC sets aside order to vacate 2 floors of Abhishek Banerjee's office

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday set aside a West Bengal Fire Services Department order directing occupants to vacate the sixth and seventh floors of a Kolkata building housing TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's office. The court ordered a fresh inspection after considering the party's reply.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Fire department must review TMC's September 3 reply first, says HC
  • Says authorities to inform TMC for corrective action if fire safety gaps found
  • Says fire department free to act if TMC fails to comply after notice

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday set aside a West Bengal Fire Services Department order directing the occupants to vacate two floors of a high-rise building housing Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee's office.

The court asked the department to reconsider the party's reply submitted on September 3 and to carry out a fresh inspection after giving notice to the petitioner.

The court also said that if any further gaps in fire safety measures are found during the fresh inspection, the authorities must inform the TMC so that corrective steps can be taken. It said the department would be free to take action in accordance with law if the petitioner fails to put the required fire safety measures in place even after such notice.

Justice Krishna Rao set aside the department's September 4 order to vacate the sixth and seventh floors of the building on Camac Street in south Kolkata, where the office of the TMC MP is located.

The High Court had earlier, on September 11, directed the Fire Services Department not to implement its order until a final decision was passed.

During the hearing, the TMC's lawyer said the party had been served a notice on September 4 asking it to vacate the two floors on the ground that the fire safety certificate had expired.

Opposing the petition, Advocate General Surojit Nath Mitra told the court that several fire safety parameters had been violated on the sixth and seventh floors and that a number of LPG cylinders had been kept on one of the floors.

In August, authorities had removed an illegal billboard of the TMC from the same building, during which private guards at Banerjee's office, his supporters and some party leaders had scuffled with police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials.

- Ends