Demolishing Kangana Ranaut's Office: "Illegal And Mala Fide" Says Bombay HC
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-11-28 12:58:54
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In a scathing judgment, the Bombay High Court has come down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for illegally demolishing a portion of actor Kangana Ranaut's bungalow which she was using as the office of her production house. The court has found the action "illegal and high-handed" and "actuated by mala fides", thereby proving what Ranaut said when her house was demolished.
The main defense of BMC was that it demolished the portion after giving only 24-hours' notice as under section 354A of the BMC Act as it was empowered to do so in case of ongoing work. But the court refused to accept that contention and treating photographs as proof, said that the work was pre-existing and section 351, which calls for a seven-day notice, should have been invoked.
The court found this an attempt to deny legal recourse to Ranaut. It said that "the whole attempt of the BMC and its officers was to somehow present the petitioner with a fait accompli, leaving her practically no time to seek redressal". It is well known that Ranaut was not in Mumbai when the BMC bulldozers sneaked in to carry out the illegal task.
The court took cognizance of the ongoing feud between the Shiv Sena (which runs the BMC) and Kangana Ranaut and said that "irresponsible statements, however distasteful, are best ignored" but it added that "illegal and colourable action on part of the state or its agencies vis-a-vis a citizen is far too serious and damaging to society to be overlooked". Courts in India have become the last recourse the citizen has in his or her fight against the might of the state.
This is a serious slap in the face for government agencies and officers who blindly carry out the orders of their political masters, often bending the law to achieve the results desired by the political class. Revenge was the entire motive behind the BMC action and the court has rightly quashed the orders. It has also ordered for Ranaut to be compensated and has appointed a valuer to arrive at the quantum. If the Shiv Sena is aggrieved by Kangana Ranaut's statements it should fight a political battle with her. Misusing the power of the state to subjugate citizens is criminal.
