India, Aug. 9 -- The Calcutta High Court has set aside an order protecting the business of a firm using part of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port land at Hide Road, holding that a dispute between the Port's tenant and the firm could not come in the way of the Port Authority enjoying the benefit of an eviction order against the tenant. A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi also held that the dispute was commercial and that the court entertaining the firm's plea for interim protection under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. The order was therefore a "nullity".
The 12,379.88-sq-m property at Hide Road had been leased by the Board of Major Port Authority, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, to Jokhiram Baijnath for 30 years under an October 4, 2001 instrument. The Port later initiated proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, resulting in an eviction and mesne profits order against Baijnath on August 5, 2022. But 26 days later, on August 31, Baijnath entered into an agreement with one Tewari Commercial Co., giving it part of the property on licence for storage. Tewari said it used the premises to store tea and other goods and materials dealt with in its business. Baijnath's statutory appeal against the eviction and mesne profits order was pending. His counsel told the HC he would pursue it only on mesne profits. Baijnath also offered to surrender the entire tenancy to the Port from August 4, 2026. The trial court had restrained Baijnath from disturbing Tewari's business and creating any third-party interest in the property. The HC said this affected the Port's rights under the 2022 eviction order and that the dispute between Baijnath and Tewari could not impede the Port from enjoying its benefit.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.