Calcutta High Court: In an urgent application filed in the wake of a structural collapse incident at the La Martiniere Boys’ School on 21-05-2025, when the school was closed for summer vacation, a Division Bench of Ravi Krishan Kapur and Supratim Bhattacharya, JJ., directed fresh inspection to be carried out by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation peremptorily on 08-06-2025 between 1 and 3 p.m.
The petitioners are reputed educational institutions with a history of internal disputes and ongoing litigation. A portion of the school building collapsed, prompting serious concerns about the integrity and safety of the premises. The urgency of the situation led the court to entertain the application during vacation sitting.
On 30-05-2025, a Co-ordinate Bench passed an order, noting the seriousness of the building collapse and directing an inspection of the affected premises. According to that directive, an inspection was to be conducted on 02-06-2025 between 12 pm and 3 pm by designated representatives: one from each appellant shool, two Executive Engineers from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), and a representative of the West Bengal Heritage Commission. Importantly, the Court had clarified that if the situation warranted, both the KMC and the Heritage Commission were authorized to take necessary remedial steps without awaiting further court orders. This was a proactive legal provision in light of the potential threat to public safety and heritage.
Despite this directive, KMC’s compliance was found to be deficient. The Court, on examining the report submitted by the KMC, observed that it lacked crucial particulars and failed to meet the substance and spirit of the earlier order. It was explicitly recorded that the inspection conducted by the Corporation covered only a few selected rooms rather than the entirety of the school buildings, thereby failing to assess the full scope of the structural risk. Furthermore, the KMC’s report did not adequately address whether repair work was required in either of the two schools, as had been mandated. This omission led the Court to term the Corporation’s approach as “casual and cavalier”, a strong judicial censure reflecting its dissatisfaction.
Considering this unsatisfactory conduct and incomplete compliance, the Court issued a further directive to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the school premises afresh on 8-06-2025, again between 12 pm and 3 pm. The representatives from all involved parties were instructed to be present during this inspection. Moreover, the KMC was ordered to serve an advance copy of the resultant report on the Advocate-on-Record representing the appellants. An Executive Engineer of the KMC who was present in court during the hearing, gave an undertaking to ensure full compliance with this order.
The Bench reiterated the earlier stipulation made on 30-05-2025, reminding both the KMC and the Heritage Commission of their continuing responsibility to act in accordance with law without awaiting judicial instructions, should the urgency of the situation demand immediate action. The matter was directed to be listed again on 10-06-2025 before the Regular Bench having the appropriate determination.
[La Martiniere School for Boys’ v. Kolkata Municipal Corporation, APOT/157/2025 With WPO/379/2025, IA NO: GA/1/2025, decided on 05-06-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Appellant Nos. 1 & 2 (La Martiniere School for Boys and Ors): Mr. Rauf Rahim, Senior Advocate (via Video Conference), Mr. Rohit Amit Sthalekar, Advocate, Ms. Debjani Sengupta, Advocate, Ms. Shrayashee Das, Advocate
For the Appellant No. 3: Mr. Sankalp Narain, Advocate (via Video Conference), Mr. B. P. Tewari, Advocate, Ms. Shrayashee Das, Advocate, Mr. Rohan Kumar Thakur, Advocate, Mr. Tridibesh Dasgupta, Advocate
For the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC): Mr. Alak Kumar Ghosh, Advocate, Mr. Swapan Kumar Debnath, Advocate
For the West Bengal Heritage Commission: Mr. Subrata Goswami, Advocate
