BMC may have to rebuild Kangana Ranaut's office if move backfires

The BMC may have to redo the demolished parts of actress Kangana Ranauts Pali Hill office if she establishes that the construction was authorised say legal experts Experts added that the high courts stay on demolition of buildings until September 30 is not applicable to Kanganas officeSenior criminal lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said If the demolition is found illegal the BMC will have to reconstruct the structure and pay damages The BMCs act is of political vendetta the possibility of heads rolling under public pressure cannot be ruledSenior property lawyer Vinod Sampat echoed similar concerns BMC should adopt a uniform policy There are times when notices are issued and for years together they sleep on them One fails to understand the hurry shown in this case This act appears to have been done due to political pressure Sampat saidAlso ReadKangana Ranaut to Uddhav Thackeray Today my home is broken tomorrow your ego will be brokenOn the HC staySampat also clarified The argument that the demolition could not have been carried out due to a Bombay High Court order staying demolition till September 30 does not hold because the order is applicable only to those cases which have a stay issued earlier Ranauts property is neither C1 nor dilapidated She did not get an order from court before BMC issued the notice Hence the ward offices action can be held as justifiedThe BMC stuck a fresh notice at Kangana Ranauts Pali Hill office on Wednesday PicShadab KhanThe BMC has power to take action against unauthorised constructions after a notice is issued They can enter a premises forcibly to take action as per the due process of law Also the presence of the owner is immaterial as under the BMC Act owners are occupiers of the premises and their representatives present are caretakers to whom the notice is binding he saidModifications get regularisedAdvocate Godfrey Pimenta of the Watchdog Foundation said The BMC usually does its homework in such matters However not giving sufficient time to the party concerned to present hisher side is unheard of unless theres some influenceAlso alleged illegal modifications are usually regularised at the Building Proposal Department by paying requisite charges If the architect does not make a submission in this regard which is the case here it is sufficient reason for BMC to take such uncalled abrupt action Pimenta saidHe added that the haphazard act of the H West ward cannot be selective He gave the instance of Behrampada Bandra East where slums have grown vertically to fourth and fifthfloor levels where fires have also occurred but action is not taken as it impacts vote banksCops deployed outside Kangana Ranauts residence in Khar ahead of her arrival PicAshish RajeIt has also been alleged that the demolition team damaged parts which were not illegal furniture and fixtures for which the actors lawyer is expected to file a criminal and civil caseAt Bombay HCA writ petition was filed in high court before the division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and R I Chagla by Ranauts lawyer Rizwan Siddique The BMC was represented by senior lawyer A Y Sakhare The court observed that the sketch in the notice is unclear and the unauthorised work cannot be seenThe court observed that Section 354A of the BMC Act invoked in the September 7 notice sets out the power of Commissioner to stop erection of building or work commenced or carried on unlawfully The court observed that from the works set out in the notice it is clear that the unauthorised works have not come up overnightHowever all of a sudden the Corporation appears to have overnight woken up from its slumber issued notice to the petitioner that too when she is out of the State directing her to respond within 24 hours and not granting her any further time despite written request and proceeding to demolish the said premises upon completion of 24 hours the court observedIt further observed that the manner in which the BMC acted prima facie smacks of malafide It asked the BMC to respond by 3 pm on ThursdayWe cannot help but mention here that if the MCGM would act with similar swiftness qua the numerous unauthorised constructions in this city the city would be a completely different place to live in the high court concludedKeep 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