Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee received interim relief on Sunday after the Calcutta High Court ordered an immediate suspension of the demolition of his Lok Sabha constituency office in Amtala, South 24 Parganas. The court directed all parties to maintain status quo until further orders or the next hearing.
The interim relief came shortly after Banerjee's company, Leaps and Bounds, approached the High Court seeking urgent intervention against the demolition. The matter was mentioned before the bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury for an urgent hearing after the office was demolished despite the petitioner claiming to possess valid ownership and land documents.
The demolition sparked a political controversy, with the Trinamool Congress alleging that the action was carried out in the presence of BJP leaders even though the dispute was still pending before the High Court.
Responding to the incident, Banerjee accused the West Bengal Police of acting illegally and alleged that valuables were taken away from the premises during the demolition.
In a post on X, Banerjee claimed that despite Supreme Court and High Court rulings declaring bulldozer demolitions unconstitutional, his Lok Sabha constituency office at Amtala had been demolished.
He further alleged that videos showed West Bengal Police personnel removing laptops, printers, documents, furniture, and other office equipment from the premises alongside BJP workers. Describing the operation as "theft in uniform" rather than a demolition drive, he accused the police of displaying complete disregard for the rule of law while the matter remained under judicial consideration.
The latest petition follows an earlier legal challenge by the Trinamool Congress after the party alleged that its office had been attacked soon after the Assembly election results. At that time, the party had moved the High Court, claiming the police had failed to take appropriate action. The matter was listed before the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya but was not heard.
Following Sunday's proceedings, the Calcutta High Court directed that no further demolition activity should take place at the site and ordered all parties to maintain status quo until the next date of hearing, granting temporary relief to Banerjee in the ongoing dispute.
