The Bombay High Court will hear Kangana Ranaut’s petition against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the demolition of parts of her bungalow on Friday afternoon, the court ruled on Thursday.
The actor sued the municipal corporation and its officials, seeking Rs 2 crore in compensation for the destruction that she believed was a product of malice, not the compliance of the rules of the civic body.
Shiv Sena lawmaker and Chief Speaker Sanjay Raut and Bhagyawant Late of the BMC, the appointed H-West ward officer of the civic body, who’d been made parties to the case on the orders of the court, were told to file their answer by the time their turn comes at the hearings. In the appeal, Ranaut’s lawyer was also ordered to make corrections.
Sanjay Raut and Bhagyawant Late had pleaded for more time from the court. The bench contrasted the plea for more time with the rush they had gone ahead with to destroy parts of the actor’s building in the luxurious Bandra area of Mumbai.
She purchased the building in 2017 for Rs 200 crore. The office of Manikarnika Films Private Limited is located there.The demolished house we can’t leave the way it is. The court consisting of judges SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla noted that you need more time here, but otherwise you are quick.
On September 9, a Shiv Sena-controlled BMC demolition team had demolished parts of an office owned by Kangana Ranaut that they alleged had been constructed in breach of the law.
Ranaut had raced to the high court to seek relief, but the harm had been done by the time the court finished its hearing and stopped the demolition.
The court then observed that “it does not seem to be bonafide (in good faith) and smacks of malafide (dishonest intentions)” the way the BMC hurried to demolish parts of the building within 24 hours of the notice.
A war of words between Ranaut and the leaders of the Sena-led Maharashtra government also escalated with the demolition.
Kangana Ranaut has asked the judges in her petition to decide on her demand for Rs 2 crore as compensation. She said almost 40 per cent of her bungalow and other movable properties were destroyed by the BMC.
She also stressed that the BMC had failed to support its allegations because it did not attach any images that should have been taken when Ranaut’s property was inspected by the appointed officer on September 7. She said this pointed to BMC’s high-handed conduct.
The actor said that as soon as the 24-hour deadline expired, the BMC demolished her house, but gave designer Manish Malhotra, who was given notice on the same day, seven days to reply.
The conflict between the government of Maharashtra and Kangana Ranaut is seen to be related to her criticism of the police in Mumbai and the state’s handling of investigations into the June death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
After Congress accused her of pushing forward the political agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the controversy took on a broader political tone.
