Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeEntertainmentCourt calls Kangana's office demolition an act of "malice", grants compensation

Court calls Kangana’s office demolition an act of “malice”, grants compensation

Responding to actor Kangana Ranaut’s plea in the demolition case of her Mumbai office, the Bombay High Court has stated today that the act carried out by the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is “nothing but malice in law”. Cancelling the notice issued by the civic body, the court passed the order in Kangana’s favour.

For the September 9th’s incident in which the BMC had demolished a part of the “Queen” actor’s office bungalow, Kangana will be presented with the damage compensation as well, added the HC. 

The actor had claimed that a portion of her Pali Hill office was destroyed after she remarked on the Maharashtra Government and its ruling party Shiv Sena, referring to a personal attack and nothing related to any law. 

In her petition, she also mentioned, though without particularly naming the Shiv Sena, that this “same party” is also the ruling party in BMC which executed the demolition. 

A bench comprising of Justices SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla heard the case and said that the MCGM “proceeded on wrongful grounds against the rights of the citizens”, adding that there were ill intentions behind the act. It also stated that the court doesn’t allow the use of “muscle power” by any authority against any citizen.  

“The manner in which the action was carried out leaves no doubt that not using S.354 was more sinister and preventing her from taking a recourse,” the High Court said.

However, it also highlighted Kangana’s choice of words and told her to abstain from publicizing her opinions regarding the government. 

Prior to the demolition, the Mumbai civic body alleged that the office was built with illegalities in the work. 

As such, it had stated 14 of those “violations” including the construction of a toilet that was originally marked to build a kitchen and another office built in the space of a toilet. 

The actor slammed a compensation of Rs. 2 crores for the damages caused by the civic body of Mumbai, terming it an “illegal demolition”. To this, the court said that a valuer will be appointed for hearing the plea of Kangana and BMC following which the amount of monetary compensation would be arrived at. 

“The valuer shall by March 2021 pass appropriate orders on compensation,” the court said.

The actor tweeted about the big win, thanking her supporters and trolls for encouraging her. 

“When individual stands against the government and wins, it’s not the victory of the individual but it’s the victory of the democracy. Thank you everyone who gave me courage and thanks to those who laughed at my broken dreams. It’s only cause you play a villain so I can be a hero,” she wrote on Twitter post the court hearing. 

Letting the actor breathe a sigh of relief, the HC had blocked the demolition work on September 9th as it believed that the work was kickstarted when “she (Kangana) is out of state”. It pointed out that the notice issued to Kangana required her to “respond within 24 hours” with no additional time allotted even though she gave a “written request”. 

The actor has been at a faceoff with the Maharashtra Government after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput following which she passed comments criticizing the investigations of the Mumbai police. 

Things got heated up when she compared Mumbai and its safety to Pakistan occupied Kashmir.