Kangana Ranaut's petition against office demolition is 'abuse of process', BMC tells Bombay HC; next hearing on 22 Sept

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court Kangana Ranaut’s writ petition for relief against the demolition of her Bandra office “constitutes an abuse of process", according to several media reports. As per  The Times Of India, senior counsel Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the BMC, told the high court: “Work which is clearly in contravention of the sanctioned plan has been done with complete abandon. Even in the current petition, there is not even an assertion that it is not unlawful.’’ The civic body also argued that the relief sought by Ranaut by filing a writ petition “constitutes an abuse of process, as the record establishes that as part of work was ongoing in the premises” . According to  Indian Express, the BMC told the Bombay High Court that the records have shown that the actor had been carrying out substantial alterations in her Bandra property ‘contrary to the sanctioned plan’ and its action of demolition was justified and was without any ‘malafide intent’. Ranaut’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee told the bench comprising justices SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla that he needed time to make changes to the petition and submit a response to BMC’s affidavit. The court directed Siddiquee to make the amendments by 14 September and ordered the Mumbai civic body to file its response by 18 September. The court rejected BMC’s request for a “status quo order” in the case, reported  LiveLaw. The Bombay High Court adjourned the matter till 22 September, reported  Bar & Bench. The high court on Wednesday had stayed the demolition of alleged unauthorised structures in Ranaut’s Palli Hill office and sought to know why the city civic body entered the property when the owner was not present. The order came at an urgent hearing within hours of the civic squad launching the demolition. The demolition was carried out on Wednesday morning. A BMC official told PTI that by the time the high court had issued the stay order BMC had demolished the “majority of the unauthorised additions and extensions.” The actor, who is in the middle of an escalating row with the Maharashtra government,  posted a video message addressing Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saying his “ego will be destroyed” the way her Bandra home was demolished. The actor said she is working on a project on Ayodhya but now understands the pain of Kashmir Pandits and will also make a movie on their plight. Ranaut, known for her provocative statements, recently compared Mumbai to Pakistan- occupied-Kashmir (PoK), which drew the ire of the ruling Shiv Sena. The 33-year-old actress has alleged that the Maharashtra government is targeting her because of her fight with the Shiv Sena. With inputs from PTI