Mumbai, September 3, 2026: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the developer of Rustomjee Crown in Prabhadevi to file its response to a suit by flat owners challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) demolition action against apartment foyers and seeking damages of Rs 1,000 crore.
Court Seeks Developer’s Reply
Justice Sandeep Marne directed the developer to file its reply by September 17 and restrained the BMC from taking further action against the affected flats until the next hearing.
The suit has been filed by 246 plaintiffs representing around 140 flat owners. They have challenged the BMC’s action initiated on August 24 against foyers in the three-tower residential complex.
Rustomjee Crown comprises Towers A, B and C. Towers A and B are 53-storey buildings, with four apartments on each floor. The two towers have 372 apartment owners, and foyers are stated to exist in nearly 95% of the apartments.
BMC Demolition Action
The BMC has issued notices to the first batch of 186 flats and has demolished eight foyers in five-bedroom apartments. The civic action was expected to continue for about a month.
The plaintiffs have alleged misrepresentation, breach of contract and fraud against the developer, Keystone Realtors Ltd. They claim the foyer spaces were represented as exclusive areas attached to individual apartments and were separately reflected in marketing material, apartment plans, costing documents and registered sale agreements.
They have further claimed that the purchase consideration, stamp duty and registration charges were calculated on the combined area of the apartment and foyer.
Dispute Over FSI Consumption
According to the suit, the BMC inspected Towers A and B before granting occupation certificates in 2025 and did not raise any objection to the foyers at that stage. The dispute allegedly arose when the developer sought an occupation certificate for Tower C, following which the BMC allegedly found that the foyer areas involved consumption of excess floor space index.
The plaintiffs have sought Rs 1,000 crore in damages, quashing of the BMC notices, protection against demolition and directions to regularise the foyer spaces. They have also sought preservation of the developer’s unsold inventory to secure compliance with any eventual orders.
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Developer Denies Violation
The Rustomjee Group has denied any violation. In a statement issued after the demolition, its spokesperson said, “The construction was undertaken in accordance with the plans sanctioned and approved by the competent authorities as per 1991 DCR.” The group said the project had received an occupation certificate and that it was cooperating with the authorities.
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