Getting married this summer and happy to have booked a suitable ceremony house? Beware, chances are that the space is being rented out illegally.

The high court on Thursday upheld the civic regulations on ceremony houses in the city. This, in effect, means that only seven of the 2,000-plus ceremony houses in Calcutta are legal.

Most ceremony houses in Calcutta have either not managed to or not bothered to meet the revised civic regulations that came into effect this year, and were upheld by Justice Jayanta Biswas on Thursday.

The rules state that house owners wanting to let out premises for wedding or other ceremonies must obtain a licence from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC).

According to civic officials, the seven ceremony houses making the cut at present are:

• Swabhumi

• PC Chandra Gardens (Bypass)

• Nadia House (Ballygunge)

• Golbari (Gol Park)

• Bablu’s (off Dhakuria)

• KN Sen Road (off Bijon Setu)

• BL Shah Road (Behala)

“We will send a list of the these licensed buildings to the police stations,” said mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya.

The cops can crack down on all other ceremony houses hosting social gatherings without a valid CMC licence.

“Before booking a building for a gathering, one must find out whether it has the necessary civic licence,” stressed municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

To obtain the licence, the owners have to fill up a form giving details about the buildings. The licence is issued only if the buildings meet certain criteria (see box).

The municipal commissioner explained that the rules have been framed to ensure that the peace of the locality where a ceremony house is located is not disturbed.

The CMC has received numerous complaints against ceremony houses from the residents of Ballygunge Phari, Ironside Road, Jodhpur Park, Entally, Bagbazar, Beleghata, Jadavpur and Behala.

Challenging the validity of the new rules, Debabrata Sil and 10 other house owners had moved a writ petition in Calcutta High Court.

Appearing for the petitioners on Thursday, advocate Anindya Mitra submitted: “Till last year, my clients obtained permission from the civic body before letting out their premises. They used to pay fees and other charges. But this year the authorities are refusing to renew their licences.”

CMC counsel Alok Ghosh argued: “It’s a fact that the civic body used to earn revenue by allowing house owners to let out their premises for various ceremonies. The new regulations, framed under the high court’s guidance, aim to to give relief to citizens inconvenienced by ceremony houses located in congested areas.”

After hearing both sides, Justice Biswas ordered that building owners must meet the CMC criteria before letting out their premises for marriages and other functions.

Confusion reigned at ceremony houses on Thursday evening. “We haven’t received a copy of the order.... We may challenge the order in a higher court,” said Subodh Saha, an official at Nagina Bhavan, opposite Ice Skating Rink.

At Pasari House on Ironside Road, caution was the keyword. “We will see what the others are doing, but we must abide by the court order,” said an official.