Appoint Judicial & Technical Members Within Two Weeks: SC Warns West Bengal Of Contempt Proceedings Over Delay In Constituting Municipal Building Tribunal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 17, directed the State of West Bengal to complete the constitution of the Municipal Building Tribunal within two weeks, warning that failure to do so could result in contempt of court proceedings.

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan expressed concern over the non-functional status of the Tribunal under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, which allows aggrieved parties to appeal against demolition orders for unauthorized constructions. Despite the appointment of a chairperson, the State has yet to appoint judicial and technical members.

The Court criticized the State for not fully complying with its earlier order dated August 9, 2024. "In the absence of any judicial or technical member, the Tribunal is defunct," the Bench noted.

The Court granted the State two weeks to make the necessary appointments and submit a compliance report to the Division Bench of the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. Failure to comply will prompt contempt proceedings. "In the interest of justice, two weeks’ time is granted to the State of West Bengal to appoint the judicial and technical members in accordance with the provisions of the Act and submit a Compliance Report before the Division Bench of Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the High Court at Calcutta, failing which we request the High Court to initiate contempt of court proceedings without any further delay," the Court said. 

The case relates to a Special Leave Petition (SLP) by the custodian of enemy property for India regarding the demolition of unauthorized structures on enemy property in Kolkata.

The Court directed all concerned authorities, including the State of West Bengal and the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, to proceed with demolishing unauthorized constructions and file compliance reports with the Calcutta High Court. "...the State of West Bengal, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, the Custodian of Enemy Property for India and all other concerned authorities are directed to ensure that illegal and unauthorized constructions are immediately demolished as per the direction of the High Court and a compliance report is submitted before the Division Bench of the High Court, presided over by Hon’ble the Chief Justice," it said. 

For parties affected by the delay in forming the Tribunal and unable to file appeals, the Court advised approaching the High Court for relief. The Bench clarified that no interim stay or status quo order was in place and that all parties must follow the High Court’s instructions.

The Court emphasized that it had not commented on the merits of the case and requested the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to oversee related matters to ensure consistency in rulings. The Tribunal, once constituted, must prioritize appeals concerning demolition orders. The Court said, "It is clarified that this Court has not granted any interim stay or a direction either to maintain status quo or to stop the demolition drive. In this regard, the directions issued by the High Court from time to time, shall be binding on the parties, and any clarification, if so required, may be obtained from the High Court only."

Furthermore, the Bench ordered, "After appointment of the requisite members, the Municipal Building Tribunal shall take up the appeals arising out of the orders of demolition issued by the Executive Engineer of the Municipal Corporation, on priority basis and at the earliest."

Cause Title: Custodian of Enemy Property for India v. Md. Yakub @ Md. Yakub Ansari & Ors.

Appearance:-

Petitioner: ASG Aishwarya Bhati, Advocates Shreya Jain, Vasu Vats, Kanu Agrawal, Raghav Sharma, Devesh Tuli, Mukesh Kr. Singh, Arvind Kumar Sharma (AOR), Amit Sharma (AOR), Dipesh Sinha, Pallavi Barua, Aparna Singh, Kunal Malik (AOR)

Respondent: Senior Advocate Dr. Monika Gusain, Advocates Binisa Mohanty (AOR), Hariom Yaduvanshi, C.Solomon, S.Harini, Arjun Yaduvanshi, Moumita Mukherjee, Avi Dhankar,  Mainak Bose,  Ratul Das,  Soumya Dutta (AOR), Siddhant Upmanyu, Srisatya Mohanty, Astha Sharma (AOR), Himanshu Chakravarty, Arvind Kumar Sharma (AOR), Kunal Chatterji (AOR), Maitrayee Banerjee, Rohit Bansal, Nandini Sen Mukherjee (AOR)

Click here to read/download the Order