The Calcutta High Court has directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to immediately cease the operation of M-Bazaar, a mega garment store being run from the premises of the erstwhile Paradise Cinema Hall at 39 Bentinck Street, Kolkata. A Division Bench comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Smita Das De held that the garment business could not be lawfully operated from the said premises without obtaining the requisite permission for change of use under Section 416 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980.
The Bench set aside the judgment of the Single Bench which had declined to interfere with the Certificate of Enlistment issued to Metro Retail Private Limited for operating the garment store. The Division Bench directed the Corporation to ensure that the garment business is stopped immediately and remains closed until permission to operate it is granted in accordance with law. The Court expressly stated that the business cannot be run from the said premises.
The Court noted that the premises had originally been used as a cinema hall, which constitutes an assembly building under municipal regulations, whereas M-Bazaar was being operated as a mercantile establishment. This change in use, the Court observed, had not been sanctioned through the proper legal process.
The dispute arose from proceedings initiated by Bhagwatdas Jaiswal, who challenged the Certificate of Enlistment dated April 7, 2025, issued in favour of Metro Retail Private Limited for operating a garment departmental store at the premises. The appellant alleged that the former cinema hall had been converted into a large-format garment store akin to a shopping mall without obtaining the mandatory permission for change of use under Section 416 of the KMC Act.