Nagpur: Cracking the whip on illegal constructions, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to proceed with the demolition of unauthorised structures forming part of Poonam Chambers and Poonam Tower, making it clear that the illegal constructions must be removed without further delay. The civic body informed the court that the demolition drive would begin on Thursday, March 5.
The direction came from a division bench comprising Justice Anil Pansare and Justice Nivedita Mehta, while hearing two writ petitions filed by Kumar Hotels Private Limited and another petition filed in his personal capacity by petitioner N. Kumar Harchandani. During the hearing, the court examined status reports submitted by both the petitioner and the municipal authorities regarding the progress of demolition.
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The bench had earlier expressed serious dissatisfaction with the slow pace of action. In its previous order dated February 23, the court noted that the petitioner had given an assurance that he would voluntarily demolish or remove the unauthorised structures mentioned in the municipal notices. However, the latest status report revealed that the assurance had not been honoured and the illegal structures still remained standing.
Taking a stern view of the delay, the High Court directed the NMC to complete the demolition in accordance with its earlier orders and fixed March 16 as the next date for further review of compliance.
During the hearing of the connected petition related to Poonam Chambers, the court also took note of a financial issue involving a demand draft of Rs 10 lakh submitted by the petitioner. The draft had been returned by the Reserve Bank of India with the remark “Wrongly Delivered.” The court registry informed that the remark was system-generated and the bank could not provide further clarification. In view of this development, the bench ordered that the Reserve Bank of India and IndusInd Bank (Chhaoni Branch, Nagpur) be added as respondents and issued notices returnable on March 5.
Court displeased with petitioner’s conduct
The proceedings also witnessed sharp observations from the bench regarding the conduct of petitioner N. Kumar inside the courtroom. The judges recorded that he repeatedly interrupted the court while it was dictating the order and insisted on arguing about the regularisation of the structure, even though the hearing was limited strictly to compliance of the demolition directive.
Despite being advised several times to maintain decorum and confine his submissions to the relevant issue, the petitioner continued to interrupt the proceedings. The bench observed that his behaviour indicated a lack of intent to comply with the demolition assurance he had earlier given to the court.
Bench notes “threatening remarks”
The High Court further noted that although English is the official language of the court under Article 348 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner was allowed to present arguments in Hindi to ensure he received a fair opportunity to be heard.
However, during the proceedings, the petitioner allegedly made several inappropriate and threatening remarks, including statements such as “hum kya suicide kare,” “aapko sunna padega… nahi to matter transfer karo,” and “unauthorised construction regular ho sakta hai to faansi denge kya.”
Taking serious note of these remarks, the bench recorded them in its order, observing that such conduct was improper and unacceptable in court proceedings. While refraining from passing immediate action, the judges stated that the issue of the petitioner’s behaviour would be considered at an appropriate stage.
