Mani Square Limited And Another vs The Kolkata Municipal Corporation And ...
2025 Latest Caselaw 236 Cal/2

Calcutta High Court

Mani Square Limited And Another vs The Kolkata Municipal Corporation And ... on 3 July, 2025

OD-5

                              ORDER SHEET

                  IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                 CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
                           ORIGINAL SIDE

                              WPO/256/2024

              MANI SQUARE LIMITED AND ANOTHER
                             -VS-
       THE KOLKATA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND ANOTHER


BEFORE:
THE HON'BLE JUSTICE GAURANG KANTH
Date : July 3, 2025.

                                                                   Appearance:
                                                        Mr. Jaydip Kar, Sr. Adv.
                                                 Mr. Arindam Banerjee, Sr. Adv.
                                                            Mr. Pranit Bag, Adv.
                                                 Ms. Rituparna Chatterjee, Adv.
                                                 Ms. Khushboo Choudhary, Adv.
                                                         Ms. Amani Kayan, Adv.
                                                        Ms. Sadia Sultana, Adv.
                                                           ... for the petitioners

                                                    Mr. Biswajit Mukherjee, Adv.
                                                         Ms. Manisha Nath, Adv.
                                                                  ... for the KMC

                                                     Mr. Soumabho Ghose, Adv.
                                                           Mr. Pushan Kar, Adv.
                                                     Mr. Sagnik Majumdar, Adv.
                                                    Mr. Aurin Chakraborty, Adv.
                                                        Ms. Shreya Ghosh, Adv.
                                                            ... for the intervenor


       The Court : The petitioners have filed the present writ petition,

being aggrieved by the inaction of the respondent in failing to reinstate

the petitioners as the sole owners of premises No. 195, Picnic Garden

Road, Kolkata, and in failing to rectify the description of the said property

in the municipal records

The case of the petitioners is that they are the absolute owners of

the premises in question. The erstwhile owner had granted a 20-year

lease of the said premises to M/s. Kumar Industries by way of a registered

lease deed dated 15.12.1973. Subsequently, by an order dated

27.01.2010 passed by the Thika Controller, Kolkata, M/s. Kumar

Industries was declared to be Thika Tenants under the West Bengal Thika

Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act, 2001, and was permitted to

deposit rent with the Thika Controller. Based on this order, M/s. Kumar

Industries got the property recorded in their name as Thika Tenants, and

the description of the property was altered to T-195, Picnic Garden Road,

Kolkata, indicating its status as Thika Tenancy Land.

The petitioners challenged the said order dated 27.01.2010 before

this Court, and the Hon'ble Division Bench, by an order dated

10.03.2014, held that the land in question does not qualify as Thika

Tenancy. The said order was appealed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court,

which, by its judgment dated 27.07.2022, held that M/s. Kumar

Industries were not Thika Tenants in respect of the said premises and

dismissed their claim. Both the review petition and the curative petition

filed against the said judgment were also dismissed.

Thereafter, the petitioners, by representations dated 19.06.2023

and 30.12.2024, requested the Municipal Corporation to amend the

municipal records by recording the petitioners as the absolute owners and

to rectify the description of the property, which no longer qualifies as

Thika Tenancy Land. However, till date, the respondent has not acted

upon the said representations.

Learned counsel for the respondent Corporation seeks, and is

granted, three weeks' time to file its affidavit in opposition. Reply thereto,

if any, may be filed within one week thereafter

List after four weeks.

(GAURANG KANTH, J.)

RS