HC refuses to stop demolition of 5 illegal Bhiwandi buildings
Bombay HC dismisses petition by residents of illegal Kalher complex, stating rights from illegality can't be protected; demolition order stands.
MUMBAI: Observing that protection cannot be granted to occupants of unauthorised buildings, as their ownership rights are based on illegality, the Bombay high court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by eight residents of an illegal housing complex in Kalher, near Bhiwandi, for stalling demolition of five buildings.
“The petitioners, claiming to be innocent third-party purchasers, cannot possibly be protected because their rights flow from illegality. Their remedies, if any, are against the developers,” said the division bench of justice AS Gadkari and justice Kamal Khata, while dismissing a petition filed by eight residents of Saidham Apartment – a complex of five buildings constructed on government land.
The petitioners had sought withdrawal of an order passed by a division bench on July 25 last year, ordering occupants of the residential tenements to vacate their premises and directing the tehsildar, Bhiwandi, to demolish the illegal buildings.
The eight residents of the complex had approached the high court, seeking withdrawal of the order, to enable them to apply for regularisation of the buildings as contemplated under Section 52A of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act.
Their counsel argued that they were not made parties to the earlier petition on which the July 25 order was passed and, thus, were not heard, resulting in gross violation of principles of natural justice.
It was also argued that the order was passed without conducting any survey of the properties in question, rendering the same illegal, and the petitioners were entitled to get the constructions regularised under Section 52A of the MRTP Act.
The court, however, rejected the arguments. “In the present case, the judgment dated July 25, 2024, has categorically held that all the five buildings in the complex were illegal, unauthorisedly constructed and, thus, directed to be demolished.
The bench added that the July 25 order clearly held that the buildings were constructed on government land and, therefore, regularisation of the buildings was not possible.
The bench also noted that though the petitioners kept on insisting that the concerned authorities must consider their regularisation application dated 14 January 2025, an inquiry with the revenue authorities revealed that the application was not even filed with the concerned authority. “In any event, even if filed, it must be rejected,” the bench concluded.
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