Introduction:
Bollywood Actress Kangana Ranaut recently received a lot of social media and public attention owing to the unexpected controversial suicidal death of Sushant Singh Rajput which happened a few months before. The actress received a lot of support as well as criticism as she came to the front line to protest against the death of Sushant Singh Rajput when she claimed that the death of this actor was not merely suicide but a plotted murder. She had severely criticized the Hindi Film Industry for nepotism and strongly opined that Sushant was ostracised and harassed by Bollywood ‘mafia’.
Even after AIIMS confirmed the death of the actor to be suicide Kangana Ranaut went on to tweet on October 3rd, 2020 that “Young and extraordinary individuals don’t just wake up one fine day and kill themselves. Sushant said he was being bullied and outcast, he feared for his life, he said movie mafia banned him and harassed him, he was mentally affected by being falsely accused of rape #AIIMS”.
The death of Sushant Singh Rajput certainly led to a new line of controversies in the Hindi Film industry regarding nepotism, Bollywood mafia etc. Director Karan Johar was heavily criticized for being inconsiderate and ignorant of self-made actors and outsiders in the industry. The public response to the nepotism claim of Kangana Ranaut was very impactful and caused quite an uproar in Bollywood.
Background
Kangana Ranaut’s protest for Sushant Singh’s death not just caused turbulence in Bollywood but the whole of Maharashtra after she tweeted about the Mumbai police that had irked the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government. Kangana Ranaut’s reference of calling “Mumbai a Pakistan occupied Kashmir” started the notorious war of words between the Maharashtra government and the actress. The Brihanmubai Municipal Corporation (BMC) destroyed a part of Ranaut’s Office and Bangalow at Pali Hill on September ninth 2020. The move came when she was incredulous of Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray and was secured a word battle with Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut over the death of the Actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The BMC anyway maintained that it had acted against the structure since it was an asset to have unlawful modifications. The destruction was halted around the same time after Ranaut moved toward the Bombay High Court. As indicated by a notification by the Shiv Sena-drove Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to Ranaut, there are 14 things of unapproved development at the workplace that was set up in January in Mumbai’s Bandra suburb.
“We had information regarding possible illegal construction at the bungalow, after which our staff visited the site on Monday for an inspection. We issued the notice after following the due procedure,” a senior BMC official told The Print. The notice reads: “… The ongoing renovation and finishing work to the unauthorized portion at above promises is beyond the BCC plan (Building Completion Certificate) dated 07.03.1979.” Through the notice, the civic body gave Ranaut 24 hours to produce documentary evidence of permission taken from the civic authority for the alterations. Ranaut, in 2018, had received a similar BMC notice for illegal construction at her residence in Khar, the official said. “She challenged it in court, which stayed the notice. We have filed a reply asking for the stay on the demolition order to be vacated. We are awaiting the court’s further instructions,” he said.[1]
The Bombay High Court’s Stand
The Bombay high court, \declared the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) act of demolishing a part of actress Kangana Ranaut’s bungalow illegal, and added that it smacked of malafide intentions. A bench of Justices S.J. Kathawalla and R.I. Chagla said the demolition action was “bad in law”, and observed that it was carried out on “wrongful grounds” and “against the rights of the citizens”. Stating that it does not approve of authorities using “muscle power” against any citizen, the high court also said that the case was fit for awarding compensation to Ranaut for the damages caused. The court was presiding over a petition filed by Ranaut, seeking that the partial demolition of her Pali Hill bungalow carried out by the BMC on September 9th be declared illegal.
The bench, however, clarified that it did not condone any illegal construction carried out by any citizen, and neither did it approve of Ranaut’s tweets that led to the whole incident. “This court does not approve of illegal works or loose statements made against the government or the film industry,” it said in its order.
“We are of the view that the petitioner, being a public-spirited person, should exercise some restraint while tweeting,” the court said. However, the court added that the comments made against the state or its machinery by a citizen in his or her capacity must be ignored by the state.
“And if any action is taken at all, it must be within the four walls of the legal system. Any sort of muscle power cannot be indulged in by the state,” the bench said. It also directed Ranaut to show “restraint” in the future while voicing her opinions in public.
In her petition, Ranaut had claimed that the BMC had acted out of malice following her tweets against the Mumbai police that had irked the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government. The BMC had denied the allegations and said that the actor had carried out illegal work at the bungalow and its officials had, therefore, acted in accordance with the law in carrying out the demolition work.
Moreover, the bench said that the photographs of the site, BMC’s attempts at denying Ranaut’s allegation, the comments made by Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, the editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana following the demolition, all made it clear that the civic body had acted out of malice. It said that the demolished portions had been in existence for a while and were not part of any ongoing illegal construction as claimed by the BMC. “The manner in which the action was carried out leaves no doubt that using section 354 was un-authorized, bad in law, and aimed at preventing the petitioner from taking recourse to preventive legal action,” the bench said. It granted Ranaut permission to make the bungalow habitable in accordance with the sanctioned plan and with prior approvals of the civic body.
Conclusion
Ranaut had sought Rs two crore in damages from the BMC. On the issue of compensation, the bench said it was appointing private firm m/s Shetgiri to assess the damages caused in order to calculate the compensation amount due to Ranaut. The valuer would hear the petitioner and the BMC on monetary damages caused to her due to the demolition.[2]
References:
[1] 14 reasons why BMC has taken a bulldozer to Kangana Ranaut’s office in Mumbai. (2020, September 9). ThePrint. https://theprint.in/india/14-reasons-why-bmc-has-taken-a-bulldozer-to-kangana-ranauts-office-in-mumbai/498964/
[2] Demolition of Kangana Ranaut’s bungalow illegal, smacks of malice: Bombay high court. (n.d.). The Wire. https://thewire.in/law/demolition-of-kangana-ranauts-bungalow-illegal-smacks-of-malice-bombay-high-court
0 Comments