- (1.) The judgment of the Court was as follows:
(2.) This Rule arises out of a proceeding under Section 363 of the Calcutta Municipal Act for demolition of certain structures alleged to have been built without sanction and in violation of statutory rules made under the said Act.
(3.) The Corporation of Calcutta is the Petitioner before up and it made the application under Section 363 of the Calcutta Municipal Act, under, inter alia, the following circumstances, namely: (i) that, on February 12, 1947, it was detected, inter alia, by the Petitioner's Building Inspector Ashutosh Chowdhury that in premises No. 2A, Durga Charan Chowdhury Lane, owned by the opposite party Surendra Nath Das Gupta, a fourth storey (along with a new staircase from 3rd floor to 4th floor level) was being added over the existing partly two-storeyed, partly three-storeyed and partly low fourth-storeyed structures of the said premises; (ii) that, according to the said Building Inspector, the said additions were being made without the necessary sanction under the Calcutta Municipal Act and in violation of Rules 3, 8, 14, 30 and 33 of sch. XVII thereof; (iii) that, immediately, that is, on the same day, namely, February 12, 1947, a notice under Section 365 of the Act was served upon the opposite party, asking him to stop forthwith further unauthorised constructions pending the decision of the Municipal Magistrate on an application to be made to him under Section 363 of the Act; (iv) that, on or about July 21, 1947, it was found that, in spite of the said notice under Section 365, the unauthorised constructions had not stopped but had instead proceeded further with the result that the unauthorised structures had practically been completed by that date; (v) that, it also came to light that even the pre-existing 3rd storey of the said premises on the road-side as also the preexisting 4th storey had all been made without sanction; (vi) that, thereupon, the whole matter was placed before the appropriate Building Committee and, after the usual notice and hearing, an order was eventually made on May 31, 1948 July 6, 1948, by the Administrative Officer, then exercising the powers, functions and duties of the said Building Committee, for sending the case to the Municipal Magistrate; and (vii) that, in pursuance.of the above order of the Administrative Officer, the application under Section 363 of the Act was made on November 24, 1948, for demolition of the unauthorised structures.;