The Calcutta High Court has put a temporary stop to the demolition of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Jahangir Khan’s residence, questioning whether the authorities had properly informed him about the proceedings while he was lodged in jail.
Justice Suvra Ghosh passed the interim order in Jahangir Khan v. The State of West Bengal and Ors., directing the State government to establish that notices relating to the demolition hearings were duly served on Khan before any further action could be taken against his house.
The Court took note of the fact that Khan and his wife are currently in judicial custody and questioned how he could have participated in the proceedings if the authorities had not attempted to serve him with notices in prison.
“The petitioner was admittedly in custody at the relevant time. No attempt was made to serve notice upon him at the correctional home,” the Court observed.
It further directed the State to substantiate the service of hearing notices issued by the Hearing Officer and Executive Officer before proceeding with the demolition.
Consequently, the authorities have been restrained from carrying out any further demolition until the next hearing.
Khan approached the High Court after learning about the demolition drive through social media. According to his petition, his son informed him about the development when he visited him in prison earlier this month. Khan maintained that he had received no formal communication regarding the proposed action.
Senior Advocate Kishore Dutta, appearing for Khan, argued that the authorities had failed to serve him with notice. He also disputed the State’s claim that notices had been pasted at the property.
Dutta further informed the Court that the residence had allegedly been vandalised and that the sanctioned building plan had been stolen. He submitted that the property was lying vacant and had already suffered damage.
The State, however, defended the demolition proceedings. Advocate General Surojit Nath Mitra told the Court that notices had been affixed to the property and that the process had also been videographed.
Mitra argued that no sanctioned building plan had been issued for the construction of Khan’s residence. He also maintained that the TMC leader had failed to participate in the demolition hearings despite the notices being served.
After considering the rival submissions, Justice Ghosh directed the State to produce the video recordings showing the alleged service of notices. The Court made it clear that demolition could not resume until the issue was examined.
Khan has remained in judicial custody since June 8 following his arrest in connection with several criminal cases involving allegations of extortion, murder, robbery, criminal intimidation and electoral offences.
His petition also accused State authorities of targeting political opponents, particularly members of the Muslim community, through executive action. These allegations are part of Khan’s plea and have not been adjudicated by the Court.