Tuhin Ghosh & Anr vs Burdwan Municipality & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4627 Cal

   D/L
Item No. 19
22.07.2022
 KOLE
                               MAT 1133 of 2022
                                    With
                             IA No. CAN 1 of 2022
                            Tuhin Ghosh & Anr.
                                   -Vs.-
                        Burdwan Municipality & Ors.


              Mr. Soumabho Ghose,
              Md. Z. Rauf,
              Mr. A. Pandey,
              Mr. Z. Pandey,
                                                        ... for the appellants.

              Mr. Subhasis Bandopadhyay,
                                                      ... for the Municipality.

              Mr. Aninda Lahiri,
              Mr. Pranati Das,
                                            ... for the respondent nos. 7 to 9.

By consent of the parties the appeal and the

application are taken up for hearing together.

A judgment and order dated July 13, 2022, whereby

the appellants' writ petition being WPA No. 15294 of 2022

was dismissed, is assailed in the present appeal.

The writ petitioners approached the learned Single

Judge challenging an order of demolition dated June 10,

2019 passed by the Chairman, Burdwan Municipality and a

notice dated June 28, 2022, whereby the Chairman informed

the writ petitioners that the demolition will be effected on

July 14, 2022.

The Learned Single Judge noted that the demolition

order passed under Section 218 of the West Bengal

Municipal Act, 1993 is appealable under the provisions of

Section 218(3) of the said Act. However, the writ petitioners

did not challenge such order by way of statutory appeal or

otherwise till they approached the learned Single Judge.

There was complete indolence on the part of the writ

petitioners. The writ petition was accordingly dismissed.

Being aggrieved, the writ petitioners are before us by way of

the present appeal.

We have heard Mr. Ghosh, learned Advocate for the

appellants, Mr. Lahiri, learned Advocate for the private

respondents and Mr. Bandopadhyay, learned Advocate for

the Municipality. We see no apparent infirmity in the order

under appeal. Indeed, the appellants took no steps to

challenge the order dated June 19, 2019 contemporaneously

or within a reasonable period of time. Only upon being

intimated that the demolition order will be implemented on

July 14, 2022, they rushed to Court. The writ court is a court

of equity. It does not come to rescue of litigants who sleep

over their rights. We are not inclined to interfere with the

order under appeal.

However, we clarify that the Municipality must take

due care to ensure that no portion of the authorized

construction is demolished in the process of demolition of

the unauthorized construction. The demolition order refers

to unauthorized construction to the extent of 207 sq. ft.

mainly on the northern and southern part. Naturally, only

207 sq. ft. will be demolished. Needless to say that the

demolition activities will be undertaken by the Municipality

strictly in accordance with law.

The appeal and the connected application are,

accordingly, disposed of.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order be

supplied to the parties, if applied for, as early as possible.

(Rai Chattopadhyay, J.) (Arijit Banerjee, J.)