Kolkata, August 21: The Calcutta High Court has extended the interim stay on the demolition of the office of Abhishek Banerjee, the General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress, located in Amtala, South 24 Parganas district, until September 18.
Justice Suvra Ghosh’s single-judge bench scheduled the next hearing for September 8. The building in question is registered under the name of a corporate entity, ‘Lips and Bounds Private Limited,’ which is linked to the Banerjee family.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing the corporate entity argued that while there were allegations of illegal construction on plots 509 and 512, the building on plot 507, which houses Banerjee’s office, had already been demolished. The lawyer also demanded appropriate compensation for the destruction.
The state’s Advocate General, Surjit Nath Mitra, requested additional time to present his case.
Ultimately, Justice Ghosh extended the interim stay and set a date for the next hearing, during which the Advocate General will present his arguments.
Previously, the South 24 Parganas district administration summoned Abhishek Banerjee after receiving multiple complaints regarding his party office in Amtala, leading to the issuance of a notice. The notice indicated that the land on which the Trinamool Congress MP’s office was built had been purchased in the name of Lips and Bounds Private Limited, associated with the Banerjee family.
After receiving no response to two consecutive notices, the district administration demolished part of the Amtala office on July 18, claiming that the entire construction was illegal.
Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, filed a petition against this demolition in the Calcutta High Court. Subsequently, a special bench issued an interim stay on further demolition, instructing the district administration to maintain the status quo in the matter.
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