Calcutta HC quashes fire dept notice to vacate Abhishek Banerjee’s Camac St office

The Calcutta high court on Wednesday set aside a notice issued by the state fire and emergency services department ordering the evacuation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee’s office on two floors in a high-rise at Kolkata’s Camac Street.

“The impugned order dated September 4, 2026, passed by the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services is set aside and quashed,” said the bench of justice Krishna Rao.

The court was hearing a petition by Banerjee challenging the state fire department’s order to vacate the sixth and seventh floors of an eight-storey building at Camac Street. The notice was sent to Rama Devi Goenka, the owner of the two floors, directing her to immediately vacate the occupants. The floors were leased to the Trinamool Youth Congress in March 2020 for 10 years.

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“Considering the fact that due to non-maintenance and inadequacy of the required fire safety measures, the occupancy is unsafe from fire and life safety point of view. It poses imminent threat to the safety of life and property of the building and its surroundings. You are directed to vacate the occupants immediately. You are further directed not to use the occupancy until and unless the fire safety measures are complied with and the renewal of fire safety certificate is obtained,” the fire department’s letter to Goenka said.

The bench directed the fire department to reconsider the reply submitted by Banerjee on September 3 and to inspect the premises again after issuing a notice.

“After the inspection, if the fire department finds any further shortcomings in the premises for fire safety measures, it will have to inform Banerjee to complete all the shortcomings. Even after the notice to Banerjee, if he fails to comply with the provisions for installation of the fire safety, the fire brigade shall be at liberty to take appropriate action against the petitioner in accordance with law,” the order said.

Earlier in August, a scuffle broke out between TMC leaders and workers and the police when a Kolkata Municipal Corporation team removed an allegedly unauthorised TMC billboard from the building where Banerjee’s office is located. A case was registered against Banerjee, and police questioned him on September 1. On September 3, a group of armed masked men ransacked Banerjee’s office.