The judgment establishes the principle that unauthorised constructions cannot be regularized under the amended provisions of the Acts. It emphasizes the need to prevent illegal and unauthorized constructions and provides specific directions for demolition and punitive costs in the specific case.

JUDGMENT

Kausik Chanda, J. - The age-old controversy with regard to the power of a Municipal Corporation to regularise an unauthorised construction has again surfaced in these two appeals. This time the issue crops up from an order of demolition passed by the learned Single Judge in respect of a construction which was allowed to be retained by the Howrah Municipal Corporation upon payment of retention fees. Interestingly, the learned Single Judge has passed the said demolition order suo motu in absence of any prayer made by the parties to these litigations.

2. The appellants in the year 2006 obtained a sanctioned plan for construction of a ground plus four-storeyed building at the premises no. 7, Hardutt Rai Chamaria Road, Howrah-711101 from the Howrah Municipal Corporation.

3. It appears that the appellants, thereafter, constructed the fifth floor without any sanctioned plan from the Howrah Municipal Corporation, which was regularised by the Howrah Municipal Corporation upon acceptance of retention fees of Rs.32,30,293/- on June 17, 2015.

4. The appellants, thereafter, in the year 2016 obtained another sanctioned plan from the Howrah Municipal Corporation for the construction of two additional floors (sixth floor and seventh floor) at the said premises upon payment of Rs.14,99,165/-.

5. The appellants, however, could not construct the said additional two floors due to objections raised by some residents of the said building, who purchased the flats from the appellants.

6. The respondent nos.1, 2, and 3, who are some of the flat owners of the said building, approached this Court by filing W.P.A. No. 651 of 2020 (Rajesh Jain and Others v. The Howrah Municipal Corporation and Others) seeking, inter alia, a direction upon the Howrah Municipal Corporation and the Howrah Police authorities to take immediate steps to stop any further constructions at the said premises and also to cancel the plan sanctioned in favour of the appellants in 2016 for construction of said two additional floors (sixth and seventh floor). It was also prayed that a direction should be passed upon the Howrah Municipal Corporation and Howrah Police authorities to demolish the unauthorised construction of the sixth floor by the appellants.

7. On the other hand, the appellants also filed another writ petition being W.P.A. No. 87 of 2020 (Laxmi Residency Private Limited and Another v. State of West Bengal and Others) seeking a direction upon the relevant police authorities and the Howrah Municipal Corporation to allow them to make construction on the basis of the sanctioned building plan granted by the Howrah Municipal Corporation and also for rendering necessary police protection to them for constructing the said additional two floors smoothly.

8. The said two writ petitions were analogously heard before the learned Single Judge. It was the observation of the learned Single Judge that the fifth floor ought not to have been constructed without obtaining any permission from the Corporation. Any construction made beyond the sanctioned plan remains unauthorised and the same could not be regularised even upon the payment of penalty as there was no provision in the Howrah Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 for regularisation of additional floors constructed without obtaining any sanctioned plan.

9. The learned Single Judge has, further, observed that if the fifth floor remains unauthorised, there is no scope for sanctioning the sixth and seventh floors as the same also remains unauthorised.

10. In view of the aforesaid findings, learned Single Judge by an order dated April 16, 2021, directed the Howrah Municipal Corporation to initiate appropriate proceedings for demolition of 'any unauthorized construction made beyond the sanction plan.' Learned Single Judge also set aside the sanctioned plan granted in respect of the sixth and seventh floors. The Howrah Municipal Corporation was directed to initiate the proceedings at the earliest, positively within a period of twelve weeks from