"Let Lives Be Saved": Calcutta High Court Declines Urgent Hearing In Matters On Demolition Of Illegal Constructions In Wake Of Fatal Building Collapse

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday declined indulgence to matters pertaining to orders of demolition passed over allegedly illegal constructions.

A single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha declined to urgently list pleas concerning demolition orders in the wake of the collapse of an illegally constructed building, in Kolkata's Garden Reach area, leading to at least five deaths from debris falling on the shanties nearby. 

Upon the mentioning of pleas against the demolition of allegedly illegal constructions, counsel for the building owner pleaded that he was not a party to the earlier proceedings, and if the appeal was not urgently listed, it would be rendered futile.

However, in declining the plea, the Bench emphatically stated:

The Court is not giving you any leave in any demolition matters. No way. Let (your appeal) become futile. Let lives be saved. The Court will not interfere. 

Accordingly, the prayer for urgent listing was denied.