Navi Mumbai Developer Booked For Forging Commencement Certificate Of Residential Building, Fraud Exposed In Bombay High Court

Navi Mumbai: A developer has been booked for allegedly constructing a residential building in Navi Mumbai using a forged commencement certificate, with the fraud coming to light during proceedings in the Bombay High Court, officials said.

Fake Commencement Certificate in NMMC Name

The accused, identified as Shahnawaz Sarfaraz Khan, allegedly fabricated a ‘Commencement Certificate’ (CC) in the name of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation to falsely portray the building as authorised. The issue surfaced when the document was submitted before the High Court in connection with an insolvency petition related to the property.

The building, ‘Akash Sagar Apartment’, located at Plot No. 21, Hissa No. 12 in Sector 12D, Bonkode, was constructed by the accused. During the hearing, the legality of the structure was questioned, following which the developer submitted a purported CC dated August 11, 2010.

Civic Body Verifies Document

Acting on court directions, the civic body’s Town Planning Department verified the document and found major discrepancies. Officials noted that the outward number on the submitted certificate did not match municipal records and confirmed that no such certificate had been issued on the stated date.

“The certificate submitted before the court was found to be fake and does not match any record of the corporation,” a police officer from Koparkhairane police station said.

Subsequently, the High Court directed the civic administration to initiate criminal proceedings. Based on a complaint filed by Deputy Engineer Santosh Chaudhary, Koparkhairane Police registered an FIR against Khan under Sections 318(4), 236(8), 338(2), 336(2), and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Investigations have revealed that forged stamps and signatures resembling those of the civic body were used in the fabrication. "We are now probing whether any municipal officials were involved in the racket and whether similar fake certificates have been used by other developers," police said.

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