Bombay High Court reserves order in Kangana Ranaut’s case against BMC

The Bombay High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on the petition filed by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut against the demolition of her property in Bandra by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

 Kangana had sought that the demolition should be declared illegal and BMC should pay her ₹ 2 crore as damages. A bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla conducted hearings on the plea last week. 

The High Court in its previous hearing informed all the parties concerned in the matter to submit their written submissions. 

The corporation had earlier filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that Ranaut has unlawfully made substantial alterations and additions to the property, contrary to the sanctioned building plan, and termed her allegations against it as “baseless”.

 It was on 9 September that the BMC started the demolition of the actor’s Pali Hills bungalow citing the reason that structural alterations were done without prior approval from the civic body as per the municipal building laws. 

On that day itself, acting on an urgent plea moved by the actor’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee, the High Court stayed the demolition, as it was progressing. 

The bench had then expressed its dismay at the action of the BMC, and termed that it prima facie “smacks of mala fides”. In the following days, the court started to hear the oral arguments of the parties.”