Supreme Court Quashes Demolition Order, Clears Santiniketan Housing Project
The bench held there was no conclusive scientific proof that the plot qualified as khoai under any legal classification.
Overview
- Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta set aside the Calcutta High Court’s 2013 direction to demolish Aarsuday Projects’ building near Visva-Bharati University.
- The court said interference with private property under Article 300-A requires a clear statutory basis supported by site-specific evidence.
- West Bengal Pollution Control Board materials noted khoai formations on adjacent land but did not certify the disputed plot as khoai.
- The developer secured requisite approvals, with the court noting revenue classifications such as danga and bastu and the Land Use and Development Control Plan, 2002.
- The Supreme Court fined the High Court PIL petitioners Rs 1 lakh for nondisclosure and faulted the case for lacking reliable, contemporaneous evidence.