The Bombay High Court was commended by the court for issuing demolition orders against encroachments supported by builders with ties to the mafia.
On Tuesday, the Bombay High Court issued an interim judgment instructing the Thane Municipal Corporation to demolish 17 unauthorized buildings built on encroached land by builders with connections to the criminal underworld, while the Supreme Court declined to intervene. [State of Maharashtra v. Danish Zaheer Siddiqui]
A buyer of one of the apartments in these buildings, claiming to speak for more than 400 households impacted by the demolition decision, filed an appeal, but it was denied by a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan.
The Bench declined to accept any challenge at this time, noting that the High Court had issued a well-considered order.
The Bench questioned the petitioner's purchase of an apartment without the required paperwork, land title verification, or authorization. Throughout the hearing, Justice Manmohan addressed pointed criticisms of the builders' participation, the absence of planning clearances, and the abuse of unsuspecting buyers to justify extensive unapproved construction.
Bravo to the High Court for making the correct choice. You see, you created a property without facing any consequences after intruding on someone else's property. There is no rule of law, and these people have ties to the criminal underworld, Justice Manmohan stated.
He also offered his thoughts on the builders' purported tactic of using homebuyers as a legal shield.
"I will see this again—a noble soul is brought to the forefront by good strategy, but the truth is that the underworld is behind all of this," he said.
In a case brought by a woman claiming ownership of the property where the structures had been built, the Bombay High Court issued its ruling. She claimed that land mafias had constructed five-story buildings without her consent and unlawfully occupied her property. Since only such resolute action could restore the rule of law, the High Court had observed that the municipal authorities had failed to stop such projects and ordered their immediate removal.
Justice Manmohan cautioned at today's session that any city may be in peril if such unapproved construction continued.
"Your Bombay will then be encroached upon." That's the only thing left to do. If you don't care for your city, everything will be encroached. "The Bombay High Court has shown great courage for once," he said.
In the end, the court noted that the petitioner's attorney had requested permission to abandon the case and take the builder to the High Court.
"We don't voice any opinions. The experienced senior counsel requests the freedom to withdraw the motion and to approach the High Court after hearing the case for a while, the bench noted in its ruling.
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