Calcutta High Court fines building owner Rs 1 lakh for delaying demolition of illegal floors

The building owner had approval to construct a ground floor and three upper floors, but allegedly built three additional floors without permission.

The Calcutta High Court has directed a building owner to pay Rs 1 lakh after he repeatedly sought to delay the demolition of unauthorised construction, holding that he had shown “utter disrespect and disregard for the majesty of the court” by filing multiple applications.

Justices Shampa Sarkar and Arjun Ray Mukherjee were hearing an appeal filed by one Md Rafique, who challenged the September 16, 2025, order passed by a single judge. The single judge had dismissed his plea seeking regularisation of the unauthorised construction and imposed costs of Rs 20,000.

“The appellant (building owner) has demonstrated utter disrespect and disregard for the majesty of the court…The appellant has abused the process of court. We are surprised that the authorities have also waited for so long. The unauthorised structure still remains, despite orders passed by the court”, the September 14 order read.

Demolition resisted amid claims of threats

The authority claimed that it had sanctioned a ground floor plus three upper floors, but the man admittedly constructed a ground floor with a six-floor structure. Later, a person filed a plea against the building owner by alleging non-compliance with the provisions of law.

The single judge, by an order dated June 24, 2024, directed the corporation to complete the demolition work with the help of the local police. The occupants of the building approached the high court with an undertaking that they would vacate the premises if they were given two months to make alternative arrangements. The owner also challenged that order in an appeal, but the division bench dismissed that appeal and imposed Rs 10,000 costs.

After that, the owner filed another petition seeking regularisation of the additional floors. The single judge dismissed this petition on September 16, 2025, and imposed Rs 20,000 costs, to be paid to the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority. Aggrieved by this order, the building owner filed a plea seeking a direction upon the corporation to consider the regularisation of the additional floors and/or whatever remained of the additional floors.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, through advocate Biswajit Mukherjee, submitted that partial demolition had taken place, but the entire unauthorised portion could not be demolished because of resistance from the building owner and his men and agents. He also said that the officials were facing life threats.

The building owner, through senior advocate Kishore Dutta, argued that the court had not considered that demolition could not be carried out while his application for regularisation was pending.

The court found that the single judge had directed demolition and that the occupants had been allowed to vacate the premises based on their undertakings.

It also pointed out that the man had filed another application for regularisation “very craftily” to circumvent the earlier demolition order.

“The appeal and the application are dismissed. Filing of multiple applications to stall the demolition proceedings is an abuse of the process of court,” it noted.

The court also said that the building owner had been “obstructing” the demolition process by repeatedly approaching the corporation and the high court through applications and petitions.

Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal and enhanced the cost to Rs 1 lakh, directing the building owner to pay it to the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, which will remit the amount to the Juvenile Justice Committee fund of the High Court.