Mumbai: The Navghar Police have registered an FIR against Gurumauli Developers’ partners, Jagdish Shashikumar Raje and Dilip Prabhakar Kudalkar, for allegedly selling five government-designated flats under the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) regulation without informing the housing society concerned. The unauthorized sale is estimated to have caused a financial loss exceeding Rs 5 crore.
Developers Sold Government-Designated Flats Without Society’s Consent
The case was filed based on a complaint by 78-year-old Nandkumar Pawaskar, a resident of Mulund Kavita Kiran Society on P. Gujar Road, Mulund East. In 2004, Pawaskar and 25 other individuals formed a proposed housing cooperative society named Shri Omkar Grihnirman Sahakari Society with three key promoters: Yashwant Shengal, Bhaskar Naik, and the late Chimaji Lohkare.
They entered into a development agreement with Namdev Mhatre, the owner of a 1,550 sq. metre plot in Nane Pada, Mulund East. In 2010, Gurumauli Developers were appointed as the contractors for the project. That same year, a registered development agreement was signed. As the land fell under ULC regulations, it was mandatory for the landowner to surrender certain flats to the government.
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Gurumauli Developers had agreed to construct nine floors, including eight flats with a total carpet area of 3,497 sq. ft. to be handed over under ULC rules.
Society members permitted the developers to construct and sell additional flats using increased Floor Space Index (FSI) at their own cost. In return, Raje and Kudalkar promised that the members would receive increased carpet area due to the enhanced FSI. A supplementary agreement was signed to formalize this.
By 2015, the government directed the society to surrender five flats measuring 421 sq. ft. each instead of eight, through a formal letter addressed to promoter Yashwant Shengal. The society provided a written assurance to the Collector’s office confirming their willingness to comply.
However, the 2015 agreement regarding ULC flats was signed solely by the promoters, landowner Mhatre, and the developers. The remaining 23 members of the proposed society did not sign it and later claimed it was not binding upon them. Records also show that on May 13, 2015, Mhatre and Gurumauli Developers entered into an MoU regarding two flats—just two days before a tri-party agreement dated May 15, 2015, was executed for the same.
Society Paid Rs 82.49 Lakh For Ownership of Flats
In a letter dated February 14, 2023, the ULC department informed the society that it could acquire ownership of the five designated flats upon payment of Rs 82.49 lakh. The society cleared the amount, including late fees, on December 30, 2023, through RBI bank challan. and subsequently received official confirmation of area release.
Developers Allegedly Sold Flats Despite Official Confirmation
Based on this, the developers applied for and obtained an Occupancy Certificate (OC) from the BMC. Despite this, between March 26 and May 24, 2024, developers Raje and Kudalkar allegedly sold all five ULC-designated flats—numbered 903, 904, 1003, 1004, and 1103—without informing the society or its members.
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Loss Estimated Over Rs 5 Crore
These flats had already been paid for by the society and were legally designated under ULC compliance. The FIR alleges that the developers colluded to misappropriate the flats and committed criminal breach of trust, cheating the society of over Rs 5 crore.
Police Registered FIR Under Sections 420 and 34 IPC
Based on the complaint, the Navghar Police have registered an FIR under Sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is underway.
