The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Friday asked the Bombay High Court to dismiss actor Kangana Ranaut’s petition seeking Rs 2 crore in damages for demolition of her bungalow in Mumbai, PTI reported. The BMC called Ranaut’s plea an “abuse of the process of law”.

“The writ petition and the reliefs sought for therein constitute an abuse of process,” the BMC said. “The petition should not be entertained and should be dismissed with costs.”

The High Court had on September 9 stayed the demolition of the actor’s property in Mumbai’s Bandra area and directed the BMC to file its response in the case the next day. The civic body had demolished a part of Ranaut’s bungalow on Pali Hill claiming that she had made substantial structural alterations without due permission. Ranaut moved the High Court on the same day.

On September 15, Ranaut modified her plea, seeking compensation of Rs 2 crore from the BMC.

In its reply, the civic body said that on September 5, during a routine inspection, its officials noticed illegal repairs and alterations being carried out at the bungalow. A demolition order was hence issued and carried out.

The civic body also alleged that Ranaut used the property as office space and had made substantial alterations and additions in violation of the sanctioned Building Plan. It alleged that she had got toilets constructed in parking areas and converted the existing toilet space into cabins and a pantry.

The next hearing in the case is slated for September 22. On Thursday, Ranaut shared pictures of her demolished bungalow on social media, claiming that her “dreams and self-esteem” had been “raped”. She added that it takes a lifetime to build a house and that the BMC hadn’t thought twice before “setting it on fire”.

The actor is in the middle of an escalating row with the Maharashtra government. The controversy began after Ranaut claimed that Mumbai felt like Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and that she feared living in the city. She had also criticised the Mumbai Police for its handling of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. Sanjay Raut, a senior leader of the state’s ruling Shiv Sena, had hit back at Ranaut and asked her not to return to Mumbai after her comments on security in the state.