A tenant of an unauthorized construction lacks standing to challenge a demolition order as they are not considered 'any person aggrieved' under Section 400(3) of the KMC Act.

JUDGMENT :

PARTHA SARATHI SEN, J.

1. In this appeal the order dated 30.08.2023 as passed in WPA 3189 of 2023 ( Rajkumari Devi Singh vs. Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Ors. ) as passed by the learned Single Bench of this Court has been assailed. Since the present appellant was not a party in WPA 3189 of 2023,an application for leave to prefer an appeal vide; CAN 1 of 2023 was filed and moved before us which was allowed by us vide; our order dated 28.11.2023.

2. The subject matter involved in the instant appeal is the premises No. B/136/H/22, Maulana AbulKalam Azad Sarani (erstwhile Narkeldanga Main Road) Ward no.30, Borough III, Kolkata 700011 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the disputed building’ in short) wherein the present appellant claimed himself to be a tenant under one Shanti Devi Singh.

3. For the effective disposal of the instant appeal some admitted facts are required to be stated and those are under:-

i. One Baljit Singh filed WPA 7911/2023 which was disposed of on 04.07.2023 by a learned Single Judge of this Court praying for demolition of the disputed building which has been allowed and learned Single Judge directed Kolkata Municipal Corporation(hereinafter referred to as ‘KMC’ in short) to carry out the demolition of the disputed building since the said court found that the entire construction in the disputed building is unauthorized.

ii. One Shanti Devi Singh, the landlord of the present appellant has assailed the said judgment dated 04.07.2023 in appeal by filing MAT 1465 of 2023 and the said appeal was again dismissed wherein the following has been held:-

“We have considered the rival contentions of the parties. It is not in dispute that the impugned construction was raised by the appellants without there being any sanctioned building plan. It is our considered view that the citizens, who take law into their own hands and make constructions without obtaining prior sanction from the competent authority, deserve no sympathy of the Court. The law generally does not contemplate making of construction without prior permission and then applying for legalizing the same. People, who indulge in illegal construction without obtaining prior permission from the appropriate authority, are reckless and deserve no leniency.”

iii. Subsequently one Rajkumari Devi Singh filed another writ petition being WPA 3189 of 2023 ( Rajkumari Devi Singh vs. Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Ors. ) which was disposed of by the learned Single Judge dated 30.08.2023 directing the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to take steps for demolition of the entire unauthorized construction being the disputed building.

4. As discussed above the said order of the learned Single Judge as passed on 30.08.2023 has been assailed before us by filing the instant appeal.

5. In support of the instant appeal Mr. Banerjee, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant at the very outset draws attention of ours to Section 400 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘said Act’ in short). It is argued by Mr. Banerjee that the present appellant being the tenant of the disputed building has not been served with any notice as per the first proviso of Section 400 (1) of the said Act prior to the passing of the order of demolition by the Municipal Commissioner. It is argued that the present appellant was also not made party in WPA 3189 of 2023. It is further submitted by Mr. Banerjee, learned counsel for the appellant th