Bombay HC allows Kangana to add Sanjay Raut as party in office demolition case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut to add Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and the officer who passed the order for the demolition of her Mumbai office as parties in the case.

A division bench of Justice SJ Kathawala and Justice RI Chagla adjourned the hearing on the matter till tomorrow.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had recently filed another affidavit in the High Court opposing Ranaut's plea against the demolition and seeking ₹2 crore in damages.

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".

"The petitioner has unlawfully made substantial alterations and additions to the property, contrary to the sanctioned building plan... Even in the present writ petition, the petitioner has not disputed carrying out the said unlawful alterations and additions. In fact, having regard to the work carried out and the contents of the sanctioned plan, there is no basis for the petitioner to dispute the unlawful work carried on," read the earlier affidavit.

The High Court had earlier this month stayed the demolition drive being undertaken by the BMC at Ranaut's property. Ranaut, through her lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui, had moved the High Court against the demolition of what the BMC termed as "illegal alterations" at her office.

The BMC had earlier this month started demolishing parts of her office, which is situated in Mumbai's Pali Hills, for what it claimed were unauthorised altercations.

The demolition had come at a time when Ranaut has been engaged in a bitter war of words with Raut after her remarks that she feels unsafe in Mumbai and has no trust in the Mumbai Police after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.