The Calcutta High Court has halted further demolition of the building housing TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s MP office. Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury directed that the interim protection will continue until the next hearing or the end of July 2026, whichever is earlier.
The Calcutta High Court ordered that all demolition activities at TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s office in Amtala be halted until further orders, following a hearing on Sunday.
On Saturday, the South 24 Parganas district administration partially demolished the TMC MP’s party office in Amtala after officials claimed it was allegedly constructed without an approved building plan and in violation of applicable rules, according to a senior official.
Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury, in a special sitting of the court on Sunday, directed the state government to submit all documents related to the Amtala building, which “Leaps and Bounds” Company is reported to own.
Banerjee said the action was politically driven and warned that if there is a change in government after the 2031 Assembly elections, BJP party offices across the state could face similar consequences. He also stated that the front portion of the building was bulldozed on Saturday.
In a post on X, Banerjee claimed that his Lok Sabha constituency office at Amtala was demolished despite Supreme Court and high court rulings that have held bulldozer demolitions unconstitutional.
Diamond Harbour MP, who is the nephew of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee,
“The lawlessness in Bengal is on full display,”
He also said,
“Videos showed West Bengal Police alongside BJP goons carrying away trunks filled with laptops, printers, documents, tables, chairs, and other furniture.”
Banerjee wrote on X,
“This was not demolition; it was theft in uniform, carried out with utter contempt for the rule of law and while the matter remains sub judice before the High Court,”
He added,
“Those meant to uphold the law have become lawbreakers. Shame on West Bengal Police!”
The MP is the CEO of “Leaps and Bounds,” according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a separate matter. The court also directed that the demolition be kept on hold through the end of July, and said the case would be heard again before a regular bench.
The “Leaps and Bounds” Company challenged the demolition in the High Court.
In his interim order, Justice Chowdhury noted that the demolition decision seemed to have been reached on the basis that the petitioner did not obtain the required building sanction from the Zilla Parishad under the applicable 2004 Rules.
The Court, however, observed that the material currently before it did not indicate that the petitioner had been supplied with the complaint or the hearing officer’s recommendation documents on which the demolition order was based or that he was otherwise given a proper opportunity to respond.
Accordingly, the Court ordered a temporary halt to any further demolition and directed the authorities to maintain status quo while the matter is considered further.
That said, the Court did not grant relief on the petitioner’s claims that political workers or miscreants entered the premises and tried to loot movable property while the police allegedly did nothing.
The Court noted that these claims raised disputed factual questions with a potential criminal angle, and since no police complaint had been presented in the writ petition, it said it was not inclined to make any order on that issue at this stage.
Case Title: Leaps and Bounds Private Limited v. State of West Bengal