Kolkata, Sep 16: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday set aside the West Bengal Fire Services Department’s order to vacate two floors of a high-rise building housing TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s office at Camac Street here.
The court directed the department to reconsider the reply submitted by the Trinamool Congress on September 3, and inspect the premises again after issuing notice to the petitioner.
Justice Krishna Rao set aside the department’s September 4 order to vacate the sixth and seventh floors of the building in the upmarket south Kolkata locality, which houses the office of the TMC MP.
The court directed that if further shortcomings in fire safety measures on the two floors are found during the inspection, the authorities will inform the TMC to take corrective action.
Justice Rao directed that the department will be at liberty to take appropriate steps in accordance with law if the petitioner fails to implement fire safety measures even after issuance of such notice.
The high court had on September 11 directed the Fire Services Department not to implement its order to vacate the two floors of the high-rise building until it passed a final order.
During the arguments challenging the department’s order, the TMC’s lawyer stated that they were served with a notice on September 4 to vacate the two floors on the ground that the fire safety certificate had expired.
Opposing the petition, the state’s Advocate General Surojit Nath Mitra had argued before the court that several fire safety parametres were flouted on the sixth and seventh floors, and that a number of LPG gas cylinders were stocked on one of these floors.
Earlier in August, authorities removed an “illegal” billboard of the TMC from the same building, during which private guards at Banerjee’s office, his supporters and some party leaders scuffled with the police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials.(PTI)
