The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued a stay on the demolition of a construction at the office of actor Kangana Ranaut which the BMC has alleged was illegal. Kangana had approached the Bombay High Court challenging the notice issued by the Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and had sought a stay on the demolition process.
High drama was witnessed in Mumbai on Wednesday when a team of BMC officials reached Kangana's office in Bandra and began demolishing parts of it. Kangana's office was being demolished even as the actor was flying down from Himachal Pradesh to Mumbai. Meanwhile, her lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui reached the spot and immediately moved the high court.
#WATCH Mumbai: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials carry out demolition at Kangana Ranaut's property. pic.twitter.com/ztn2L0Jg54
— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2020
"We filed a petition this morning seeking urgent hearing. We have sought a stay on the demolition process by way of interim relief," Ranaut's advocate Rizwan Siddiqui told PTI.
Justice SJ Kathawalla, who was hearing the petition, sought to know from BMC how it entered the premises and directed it to file an affidavit in response to the plea. The High Court will be hearing the plea further on Thursday.
Ranaut's recent remark comparing Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) has drawn the ire of the ruling Shiv Sena which also controls the BMC. The 33-year-old actor reached Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, after parts of her office had already been demolished, and channels covered her trip live, from the airport in Himachal to her arrival at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj airport in Mumbai.
Kangana, meanwhile, took to Twitter to lash out at the demolition by the BMC. She shared several pictures of her now demolished office with the caption 'Pakistan' and even reiterated, "this is why my Mumbai is POK." Kangana has alleged that the Maharashtra government is targeting her because of her fight with the Shiv Sena.
Pakistan.... #deathofdemocracy pic.twitter.com/4m2TyTcg95
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 9, 2020
The BMC on Tuesday pasted a stop-work notice at the actor's bungalow at Pali Hill in suburban Bandra. The civic body claimed that during regular inspection, it found that several illegal constructions and modifications have been carried out without taking necessary approvals from the civic body.
The BMC on Tuesday also filed a 'caveat' in a local court, saying it should be heard first if Ranaut challenges the stop-work notice issued to her. A caveat is a request to a court that no order should be passed without hearing the person/party which files it.
With PTI inputs