Kolkata, Sept. 11 -- The Calcutta High Court on Friday restrained authorities from acting on a Fire and Emergency Services Department notice directing the vacation of parts of the Trinamool Congress's Camac Street office over alleged fire-safety lapses.
Justice Krishna Rao passed the interim order while hearing the TMC's challenge to notices issued following a fire-safety audit of the building.
Senior Advocate Kishore Dutta, appearing for the TMC, said the party was ready to comply with the Fire Department's directions and undertake the required safety measures. However, he argued that under the agreement with the premises' owner, responsibility for fire-safety compliance lay with the owner.
Advocate General Surajit Nath Mitra, appearing for the state, said the inspection had detected fire-safety deficiencies and that the building's compliance certificate had expired and was not renewed. The court questioned why the authorities had not given the occupants time to rectify the deficiencies before ordering vacation. Justice Rao observed that the situation did not appear to pose an immediate risk and that a deadline could have been fixed for compliance.
The building owners, represented by Senior Advocate Soumya Majumdar, opposed the petition, arguing that compliance was the occupier's responsibility. They also said they had issued a notice terminating the lease.
Justice Rao questioned how responsibility could be shifted to the occupier after termination of the lease. The court also noted that no notice appeared to have been issued alleging a breach of the lease terms.
As the hearing remained incomplete for want of time, the court directed that the vacation notice not be acted upon. The matter will be heard on September 16.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.