‘Appears to be mechanical exercise of authority’
Kolkata: Around 50 hotels and guest houses in the New Market-Free School Street area reopened after court orders issued just before Durga Puja set aside KMC’s closure and trade-licence suspension notices, offering relief to establishments that had been shut since Aug. Among the 40-odd establishments that received the latest relief and reopened in the third week of Oct were Hotel Time Star, Hotel Samrat, Hotel Continental Guest House, Hotel Times International, Hotel Elite and Hotel Oriental. They had approached the court after around 10 other hotels secured favourable orders on similar grounds and resumed operations in the first week of Oct. The orders have allowed a section of the nearly 250 hotels in the area to reopen after the KMC, along with the fire department, issued closure notices to over 900 hotels and guest houses across Kolkata. The crackdown followed a fatal fire at a guest house in Florence Mansions on Free School Street on Aug 19, when nine people died. Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury on Oct 13 set aside the closure notices, issued to around 40 hotels that had moved court. Consequently, the notice of closure dated Aug 24, 2026, cannot be sustained, and is quashed,” the court held, adding the suspension of the certificates of enlistment would also stand revoked. Hotel Emirates was the first to get relief from the court on Oct 1, followed by other establishments, including Hotel Duke, Deluxe Guest House, Moon Guest House, Magnolia’s Maggie Guest House, Hotel Afreen and some hotels in Kasba.
The court also noted that the closure notices were not signed by the municipal commissioner.
The HC held that no prior show-cause notice was served on the petitioners and that the abrupt closure of their businesses and suspension of their certificates of enlistment appeared to be an act in “colourable exercise of power and violative of principles of natural justice and fair play”. Multiple other hotels TOI spoke to indicated they, too, would move the Calcutta High Court against the closure notice, using the latest order as a precedent. “Apparently, there appears to be no application of mind and appears to be mechanical exercise of authority.
The KMC had issued the closure orders under Section 416, which requires establishments conducting business to operate from commercial buildings. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news.
“In each case, the court ruled that the actions lacked application of mind, were taken without prior show-cause notices or disclosure of inspection reports and featured unsigned notices issued by the municipal commissioner,” said Calcutta Hotels, Guest Houses and Restaurant Owners Association general secretary Harmit Singh. Singh said in an old city, such as Kolkata, many establishments had been operating from a time when there was no separate classification. Sushil Jasnani, who owns Magnolia’s Maggie Guest House on Marquis Lane, said he hoped Bangladeshis would return to Free School Street, Marquis Street, Sudder Street and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road after the reopening of hotels. We hope they will return soon,” Jasnani said.
“We acknowledge that to run a guest house, we need to convert a residential building to commercial. Everyone is ready to pay the charge and do the needful. But KMC did not give us any time. Also, the fire department insisted there should be two staircases. Most of the old buildings don’t have space for a second staircase. The fire department has to suggest an alternative in such cases, like installation of alarms, sprinklers and other devices. True, the intent is to prevent loss of lives. But one has to also look at the loss of livelihoods,” he added. “The area used to be abuzz with activity till the closure orders led to desolation. It has not only hurt business in the area but also shops in New Market have taken a hit. Families of Bangladeshi patients, who stayed in this neighbourhood, had to move out. Download the TOI App.