‘Treat company as occupier in property ownership dispute’

Kolkata: In a case of ownership dispute over a property between a company and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the Calcutta High Court directed the civic body to continue to treat the company as the occupier while deleting KMC’s name as the owner from its records.

The bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi directed that KMC will enter the name of the owner of the property at 7 Tiljala Road only on receipt of an order to such effect passed by the competent civil court possessing jurisdiction over the subject premises.

The court clarified that it did not decide any right, title and interest of any of the parties to the proceedings including that of the appellant (company) and the KMC. “Our direction to delete the name of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation from the column of ‘owner’ of the Municipal Assessment Register Book does not reflect on the right, title and interest of Kolkata Municipal Corporation in respect of such property or the lack of it. Such issue is left upon to be decided by a competent Civil Court if so approached,” the court said.

In the matter, the appellant company’s counsel sought relief to record the appellant as the occupier and owner of the immovable property concerned. A single bench had previously refused to grant relief with regard to an inventory list according to which KMC claimed it is the owner of the property. It was learnt that when the petitioner had approached KMC for mutation of the property, the civic body allegedly refused to. Later, the Municipal Commissioner, asked to consider the application after giving a hearing opportunity to the petitioner, held that declaration of title by a civil court is required. The KMC submitted that in its record (Municipal Assessment Book) KMC was noted as the owner. This is as per an inventory list. There was, however, no document of title with the civic body