Bombay High Court
East Pune Realty Llp vs Kirit Somaiya And 17 Ors on 2 April, 2024
Author: G.S. Patel
Bench: G.S. Patel
908-OSPIL-32725-2023+.DOC
Amol
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO. 32725 OF 2023
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 10740 OF 2024
IN
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO. 32725 OF 2023
Kirit Somaiya ...Petitioner
Versus
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors Respondents
WITH
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO. 25004 OF 2022
Tushar Mahdeo Kadam ...Petitioner
Versus
State of Maharashtra & Ors ...Respondents
WITH
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO. 32984 OF 2023
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 10877 OF 2024
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 338 OF 2024
IN
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO. 32984 OF 2023
Sagar Kantilal Devre ...Petitioner
Versus
State of Maharashtra through Chief Secretary & ...Respondents
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908-OSPIL-32725-2023+.DOC
Ors
Mr Aaditya Bhatt, with Parth Turkhia, for the Petitioner in
PILL/32725/2023.
Mr Akshay Kapadia, i/b MDP & Partners,for the Petitioner in
PILL/25004/2022.
Mr Rajkumar Awasthi, for the Petitioner in PILL/32984/2023 &
Applicant in IAL/10877/2024.
Mr GS Godbole, Senior Advocate, i/b Sumit Kothari & Kaustubh
Thipsay, for the Applicant in IAL/338/2024 &
IAL/10740/2024.
Mr GS Godbole, Senior Advocate, i/b Sumit Kothari & Kaustubh
Thipsay, for Respondents Nos 12 & 13 in PILL/32725/2023 &
Respondent No 8 in PILL/32984/2023.
Dr Milind Sathe, Senior Advocate, with Rubin Vakil, i/b Gurdeep
Singh Sachar, for Respondent No 15 in PILL/32725/2023.
Mr Veerendra Tulzapurkar, Senior Advocate, with Joel Carlos &
Oorja Dhond, i/b SK Sonawane, for Respondent-BMC in
PILL/32725/2023.
Dr Birendra B Saraf, Advocate General, with Jyoti Chavan, Addl
GP, with Pooja Patil, AGP,with Vaibhav Charalwar, with
Manish Upadhaye, AGP, for Respondent-State in
PILL/32725/2023, PILL/32948/2023 & PILL/25004/2022.
Ms Savita Ganoo, i/b Shreyas Deshpande, for Respondent No 6-UOI.
Mr Jagdish G Aradwad (Reddy), for Respondent No 10 in
PILL/32725/2023 & Respondent No 6 in PILL/32984/2023.
Mr Rujuta Patil, with Yohaan Shah & Hasan Mushaffer, i/b Negandhi
Shah & Himayatullah, for Respondent No 16 in
PILL/32725/2023 & Respondent No 7 in PILL/25004/2022.
Ms Nidhi Chauhan, i/b Vishwanath Patil, for Respondent No 5-
MPCB.
Ms Shivanee Srivastava, i/b Ishan Srivastav, for Respondent No 14
in PILL/32725/2023.
Mr Nimay Dave, i/b Nishank Barolia, for Respondent No 17 in
PILL/32725/2023.
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908-OSPIL-32725-2023+.DOC
CORAM G.S. Patel &
Kamal Khata, JJ.
DATED: 2nd April 2024 PC:-
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (L) NO 25004 OF 2022
1. On the specific request made by the Petitioner, the Public Interest Litigation ("PIL") is dismissed as withdrawn but with liberty to file a fresh Petition incorporating the necessary averments showing that it is indeed filed in the public interest. For some reason that we cannot understand, for two years the Petitioner has not been able to remove office objections. We passed an order of 29th February 2024 in which we said that if the objections were not removed within 24 hours, the Petition would stand summarily rejected. As far as we can tell that Petition was rejected on 2nd March 2024. Nonetheless, we grant the Petitioner this liberty.
2. Mr Godbole appears for the Respondents. The Respondents' objections as to the locus and bona fides of the Petition will continue and may be addressed if and when a fresh PIL is filed.
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 10877 OF 2024
3. The Interim Application (L) No 10877 of 2024 is thoroughly misconceived. It proceeds on an assumption that the Government has suddenly come out with the Notice under Section 37(1AA) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 proposing a substantial modification to the final sanctioned plan for Mumbai but has made it immediately effective even while suggestions and Page 3 of 6 2nd April 2024 ::: Uploaded on - 03/04/2024 ::: Downloaded on - 03/04/2024 17:33:26 ::: 908-OSPIL-32725-2023+.DOC objections are being considered. This is in the context of an amendment relating to the Project Affected Person ("PAP") housing.
4. Several orders in other unrelated matters are annexed to the Interim Application to canvass some general principle but without any regard whatsoever to the facts.
5. The subject notice under Section 37(1AA) relating to PAP housing was issued as long ago as 11th January 2022. The final notification was issued on 22nd February 2024. Now in March 2024 the PIL Petitioner says that the notice of 11th January 2022 should be stayed and makes no reference at all to the 22nd February 2024 final notification sanctioning the amendment.
6. We are told that this is because the PIL Petitioner "was unaware" of the final notification. That is a remarkable proposition from the PIL Petitioner especially since these notifications of the State Government are gazetted and are in any case available in the public domain on the Maharashtra Government website.
7. We do not understand how such an Interim Application could possibly have been filed on 27th March 2024.
8. Interim Application (L) No 10877 of 2024 is dismissed. As an exceptional case, we refrain from imposing heavy costs which would otherwise clearly be warranted.
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9. In this Writ Petition we issued Rule on 29th February 2024. This PIL was listed along with Public Interest Litigation (L) No 32725 of 2023 (Kirit Somaiya Vs Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors), where we also issued Rule, and Public Interest Litigation (L) No 25004 of 2022 (Tushar Mahadeo Kadam Vs State of Maharashtra & Ors). The Tushar Kadam PIL has been withdrawn today and we have made a separate order.
10. In the Kirit Somaiya PIL and in the Sagar Kantilal Devre PIL, our order of 29th February 2024 specifically declined interim relief.
11. There is no question now of taking up these matters for ad interim relief.
12. In the Sagar Kantilal Devre PIL, notice has been issued to the learned Advocate General who appears today.
13. We note finally that in both surviving PILs, objections have been removed and there is a noting in the board to that effect. It is just the final numbering that remains.
14. Dr Saraf, learned Advocate General, and learned Counsel for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority seek leave to file Affidavits. All Respondents are to file their Affidavits in Reply by 6th May 2024. Affidavits in Rejoinder by 16th June 2024.
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15. The PILs are to come up for final hearing in the normal course thereafter.
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