Kolkata, Sept. 16 -- The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday quashed an order directing the Trinamool Congress to vacate the sixth and seventh floors of its Camac Street office over alleged fire-safety violations, holding that the authority had failed to consider the party's reply or conduct a fresh inspection.
Justice Krishna Rao directed the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services to reconsider the September 3 reply, issue notice to the petitioner and conduct another inspection.
The September 1 notice cited absence of a valid renewed Fire Safety Certificate, a structure encroaching on the driveway, LPG cylinders in the seventh-floor kitchen, deficiencies in the firefighting pump and riser system, one entry/exit and an inadequate, non-functional fire alarm and detection system.
The TMC replied that the structure and cylinders had been removed, the driveway cleared and two entry/exit points were available. It also said the riser valve was non-operational during maintenance when the inspection took place and pointed to sprinklers and smoke detectors on both floors.
The court noted that the reply was submitted on September 3, but the evacuation order followed the next day. The authority neither dealt with the reply nor conducted a further inspection and, the court held, ought to have given the petitioner time to rectify shortcomings.
It also held that the appeal provisions cited by the state did not apply to an order passed under Section 37A.
The authority can take appropriate action if, after fresh notice and inspection, the petitioner fails to comply with fire- safety requirements.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.