The high court on Monday set some conditions for the reopening of the Haldiram outlet at the Exide crossing that was closed down on November 19 following a fire.

Justice Sanjib Banerjee ruled that the owner, Mahesh Agarwal, could not store more than 23 gas cylinders in the kitchen.

“The remaining cylinders can be kept in a storeroom which should be at least 3 metres from the outlet. The storeroom can be used subject to the approval of authorised gas dealers and the fire department,” the judge said.

The court also asked the owner to construct another emergency exit. Now, there is only one such exit.

The court accepted the owner’s request and allowed him to construct a permanent structure on the first floor, provided the Calcutta Municipal Corporation approved the proposal.

The court issued the guidelines following suggestions from the civic authorities, police and the fire department.

The fire department had on January 20 informed the court that it was reviewing its decision to allow the reopening of the outlet and admitted that it had erred in allowing the management to use as many as 128 cylinders while issuing the original fire licence.

“Our initial decision to allow the restaurant-cum-sweet shop to run a big kitchen was wrong. So, the fire services department is reconsidering its decision to allow the outlet to operate from its present premises,” advocate-general Balai Ray had said.

The November 19 fire was the second in three months and the third in three years. A probe revealed that the flames had originated from a room on the mezzanine floor that had been built illegally.