Mumbai: In a major setback for BJP leader and Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane, the Bombay High Court directed the BMC on Tuesday to demolish within two weeks the illegal portions of his Juhu bungalow. The court also refused Rane’s request for time to move the Supreme Court.
A division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and Kamal Khata observed that if the proposal from Kaalkaa Real Estate Private Limited, a firm owned by the Rane family, to regularise the illegalities were accepted, it would simply encourage more unauthorised construction in the city.
The court imposed a cost of Rs10 lakh on the company. The amount has to be deposited with the Maharashtra Legal Service Authority.
Dismissing Kaalkaa’s petition, the justices observed: “The proposed retention/regularization of unauthorized work, if accepted, will amount to encouragement of widespread/large-scale violation of provisions of law and invite wrongdoers to carry out any extent of unauthorized construction in the city of Mumbai without any fear of penal action.”
They also rejected the second application filed by Kaalkaa before the BMC on July 11, 2022, to retain the unauthorised construction. Kaalkaa had approached the court seeking direction to the civic body to consider the application.
On June 3, the BMC had rejected Kaalkaa’s first application for regularisation, which decision was upheld by the court on June 23.
The justices said they were “astonished” by the BMC’s stand that there is no bar on the number of applications for regularisation irrespective of the volume of unauthorised construction and breach of provisions.
If this argument were to be accepted, they said, “every inch of land in Mumbai city even if developed in breach of sanction plan and other mandatory provisions of law would be tolerated by the municipal corporation”.
Referring to the BMC’s changed stand in the case, the bench said the corporation had vehemently opposed Kaalkaa’s first petition for regularisation and, “for reasons best known to it”, taken a “totally contrary stand” while dealing with the second petition.
Disagreeing with this change of stand, the justices said: “The corporation cannot be allowed to take such an inconsistent stand, particularly when the earlier order had been upheld by this court.”
Kaalkaa had contended that additional FSI (floor space index) can be availed of by paying a premium. Similarly, additional TDR (transferable development rights) can be purchased from the market. The BMC had argued on similar lines.
The High Court found this “totally illegal” and contrary to its 2010 judgment laying down guidelines on the authority to grant or refuse permission to regularise unauthorised constructions.
The justices also rejected a request from Kaalkaa counsel Shardul Singh to continue the earlier interim stay on demolition for six weeks to enable them to approach the Supreme Court.
