TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee Gets Interim Relief As Calcutta HC Stays Office Demolition

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Sunday granted interim relief to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee by ordering an immediate halt to the demolition of his Lok Sabha constituency office in Amtala, South 24 Parganas. The court directed all parties to maintain status quo until the next hearing or further orders.

The relief came after Banerjee's company, Leaps and Bounds, approached the High Court seeking urgent intervention against the demolition. The matter was mentioned before Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury after the petitioner claimed that the property had valid ownership documents despite being subjected to bulldozer action.

The demolition sparked a political controversy, with the TMC alleging that the operation was carried out in the presence of BJP leaders even though the dispute was already pending before the High Court.

Reacting to the development, Banerjee accused the West Bengal Police of violating the law during the demolition. In a post on X, he claimed that despite Supreme Court and High Court judgments declaring arbitrary bulldozer demolitions unconstitutional, his constituency office had been razed.

The TMC MP further alleged that videos from the site showed police personnel carrying away laptops, printers, official documents, furniture and other office equipment along with BJP workers. Describing the operation as "theft in uniform" rather than a lawful demolition, he accused the police of showing complete disregard for the rule of law while the matter remained sub judice.

The latest plea follows an earlier petition filed by the Trinamool Congress after the party alleged that its office was attacked soon after the Assembly election results. The party had claimed that the police failed to take action and had approached the High Court, where the matter was listed before Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya but was not taken up for hearing.

Following Sunday's proceedings, the High Court restrained authorities from carrying out any further demolition at the site and ordered maintenance of status quo, providing temporary relief to Banerjee until the matter is heard again.