‘Saintly position’ rap on KMC but no rooftop relief for restos
Times of India | 7 May 2025
Kolkata: Ticking off KMC for "taking a saintly position" now and issuing demolition orders after allowing illegalities by rooftop restaurants, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the civic body to reverify relevant documents of the three rooftop restaurants that have moved court against the demolition order within two weeks.The HC also restricted the three restaurants — Drunken Teddy, Romaania, and Scrapyard — from using their rooftop sections till then, making it clear they cannot carry out "any activities whatsoever at the disputed sites". Justice Gaurang Kanth asked the Bhowanipore and Shakespeare Sarani police stations to keep a strict vigil to ensure that "no activities are undertaken and no third-party rights are created during the pendency of the proceedings."You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in KolkataThe HC has asked KMC to give a "fresh decision" on whether the demolition notices are warranted, which, according to the high court, is an "extraordinary power to be used in emergency situations." The court said if it was imperative for ensuring public safety, then KMC can proceed with demolition after a "subjective and objective" assessment. However, if there is no immediate threat to life, then the owners should be given a hearing before taking coercive steps."As a statutory authority, the KMC is responsible for acting reasonably and in conformity with the governing statute, and may not apply the law arbitrarily or to the prejudice of any individual. Even a party found to be in violation of the law is entitled to be dealt with by established legal procedure and not subjected to impulsive or arbitrary action," Justice Kanth observed.Akshit Agarwal of Drunken Teddy, Ramesh Kumar Agarwal of Romaania, Ankit Madhogaria of Scrapyard, and the National Restaurant Association of India moved the court against the notices served by KMC for demolition without giving them an opportunity to reply. When the KMC reasoned its actions, Justice Kanth said, "All this has come up only because of you; you have allowed all this to come up. So today, to take a saintly position and say all this is illegal. All this illegality has come up because the state has allowed it.""A demolition of an unauthorised construction remains a permissible objective under both provisions, but where no immediate risk is involved, such action must follow the grant of the opportunity of being heard. A decision to bypass the appeal process or deny a hearing must be justified through adequate preliminary groundwork and demonstration of emergency. It appears that the respondent authorities failed to prevent the petitioners from continuing the unauthorised construction and proceeded to undertake the demolition of said structures as well as illegal activity as alleged," the judge observed.The court made it clear it does not seek to curtail the authority of the Mayor-in-Council to pass orders under section 400 (8) of the act. The court stressed that it wanted to underscore that the emergency power must be exercised only after subjective and objective consideration. "It's an extraordinary power which should only be used in an emergency situation and not in ordinary events," the judge stated. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners claimed that closing down the business has civil consequences. But the judge said that the rooftop is a part of the serving area and not the complete serving area. The judge told the restaurants, "You all have the bar counter on the terrace. The terrace is not included in the excise plan, and as per my understanding, they cannot give a licence there. Running a rooftop restaurant is not permissible (the judge referred to the documents submitted). You are already running a restaurant from the floor. As far as the floor is concerned, you have fire safety licences, including a trade licence. We are only concerned about the rooftop. The excise also does not give you any permission to have a bar on the rooftop as per your blueprint plan," the judge said, while adding, "You know how all these licences are coming. These are all online processes; they are easier to apply for but difficult in the sense that the inspection suffers."