The court upheld the legality of amalgamating properties under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act for tenant rehabilitation, emphasizing adherence to prescribed statutory procedures.

JUDGMENT :

RAI CHATTOPADHYAY, J.

1. An order of the respondent No. 4 / the Director General (Building),Building Department, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (in short 'KMC'), dated October 09, 2021 and a corrigendum thereof dated October 26, 2021 are under challenge, in this writ petition.

2. The petitioner is a tenant at premises No. 80, Bentinck Street, Kolkata-700001, who says to have occupied 3802 sq. ft. carpet area on the Northern and North Eastern portion of the 1st floor of the said premises. He pays a monthly rent of Rs. 1225/-. Respondent No. 7 is the co-owner of the premises Nos. 80 and 81 Bentinck Street, Kolkata -700001, 1A Grant Lane, Kolkata -700012 and 80/5 Bentinck Street, Kolkata-700001. According to the writ petitioner, the premises Nos. 80 and 81 Bentinck Street are presently in a dilapidated and ruinous condition.

3. The petitioner has mentioned about receipt of a notice dated April22, 2019, under Section 412A of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 (in short the 'KMC Act'), seeking him and other few tenants to show cause as to why the building situated at 80 Bentinck Street shall not be declared to be a condemned or dangerous building for the purpose of Section 412A of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act. Being driven by agony due to collapse of a portion of the building at premises nos. 80 and 81, Bentinck Street, the petitioner and four other tenants of the said buildings wrote letter dated July 5, 2019, to the respondent no. 7/ co-owner of the said buildings, requesting for repair thereof. Copy of this letter was also sent to the respondent/ Kolkata Municipal Corporation. A letter dated July 06, 2019 was issued thereafter, by the respondent. no. 7/ the co-owner and the added respondent. no. 8/ M/s Bidya Construction to the tenants of premises nos. 80 Bentinck Street and No. 1A Grant Lane, including the petitioner. There, they had refuted to carry on any repair works as requested earlier by the petitioner and other tenants. The said respondents, in the said letter have mentioned an order of this Court dated September 03, 2018 in W.P.A. No. 425 of 2018 and stated therein that the municipal authorities shall take steps for demolition of the said building in terms of the said order of the Court.

4. Hearing took place on July 31, 2019, before the respondent No. 3/Municipal Commissioner (G & D), Kolkata Municipal Corporation, as per notice dated April 22, 2019. The writ petitioner, along with the other authorised representative of the tenants/occupiers attended the same. The landlords were also represented. The authority has passed an order dated September 26, 2019, under section 412A of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act. According to the writ petitioner, in terms of the said order dated September 26, 2019, he was to be given rehabilitation before demolition of the existing building within the timeframe stipulated therein. His grievance is that in spite of the said order being issued by the respondent authority, no steps in terms thereof have ever been taken by the respondent/landlords. To ventilate his grievance as above, he has written letters dated December 03, 2019 and January 22, 2020 to the respondent/Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

5. Before that and at the reque