Bombay High Court to BMC: Compensate Kangana for demolition damages

The BMCs move to demolish part of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranauts office was condemned by Bombay High Court on Thursday The HC declared the BMC action illegal and decided that a valuer would be appointed to assess the damage caused in order to calculate the compensation amount due to RanautThe HC decision has given fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP to target the Shiv Sena as it leads the civic corporation BJP leaders have demanded that the exorbitant fee of the lawyers and the losses should be borne by Sena leaders and not tax payersAlso read Mumbai BMCs Swift Action Suggests There Was Political Pressure Says High CourtBJP leaders have called the action revenge that the BMC and Sena planned against the actor for speaking against the government After a controversy over Kangnas tweet comparing Mumbai to PakoccupiedKashmir she was served a notice for illegal construction at her office at Pali Hill Bandra The BMC had acted immediately 24 hours after serving the notice and had partly demolished her officeThe BMC had acted 24 hours after serving the actor the notice and had partly demolished her office PicSatej ShindeStating that it does not approve of authorities using muscle power against any citizen the high court also said that the case was fit for awarding compensation to Kangana for the damages causedThe bench said it was appointing private firm ms Shetgiri as the valuer to assess the damages caused in order to calculate the compensation amount due to Kangna The valuer would hear the petitioner and the BMC on monetary damages caused to her due to the demolition The valuer shall by March 2021 pass appropriate orders on compensation the court saidBJP leaders speakWhile the BMCs move was then criticised by citizens who questioned how it had taken action so soon when there are hotels and buildings being constructed illegally and no action is taken against such activities Even the BJP had targeted Sena They have said that the BMC has already wasted tax payers money as the civic body was paying Rs 82 lakh to the lawyer appointed to fight this caseWhile the BJP city chief Atul Bhatkalkar has said that the money should come from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerays pockets the BJP group leader in BMC Prabhakar Shinde said the municipal commissioner and Mayor should pay from their own pocket and not touch the civic bodys kitty for this purpose Shinde said The entire move was a revengeful act by the BMC and thus they should pay for it and taxpayers money should not be wasted As it is the lawyer fighting this case has been paid Rs 82 lakh so there is no need to pay moreHowever the BMC is yet to receive the judgment copy and will study the judgment and then decide whether to approach Supreme Court said Mayor Kishori Pednekar while talking to the press Pednekar said We will have to study the judgment and have to see if our side was put before the Court properly we have an entire law department with us We have been issuing 354A notices to stop erection of building or work commenced or carried on unlawfully as per the MMC Act and the Court has in majority of those cases upheld the BMCs action So we will have to find why it did not happen in the case of an actor AgenciesSept 19Day part of Kangana Ranauts office was demolished by BMCKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news