MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted three weeks’ time to 27 families residing on the upper 18 floors of a highrise in Tardeo to vacate their flats, which lack an Occupancy Certificate (OC). The court said that if they fail to comply, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) must evict the residents and seal the premises.
The direction comes five days after the Supreme Court refused to stay the High Court’s earlier eviction order, calling it “very well considered, bold and lucid”. The apex court also allowed the Willingdon View Co-operative Housing Society, which owns the building, to approach the High Court for more time to vacate.
The High Court bench of justice GS Kulkarni and justice Arif Doctor made it clear on Wednesday that the extension was being granted purely on humanitarian grounds and warned that no further leniency would be shown.
The petition was originally filed by a resident, Sunil Jhaveri, who flagged illegal construction and structural changes in the 34-storey building. While the lower 16 floors have a partial OC, the top 18 floors were built without one and the entire structure lacks a fire department No Objection Certificate (NOC), making occupation of the upper floors illegal.
The building has been partially occupied since 2008. On July 15, the High Court ordered eviction of the upper-floor occupants, prompting the society to approach the Supreme Court. On August 1, the top court upheld the High Court’s order, with justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan remarking, “At the end of the day, the rule of law must prevail.” They also praised the High Court’s “courage and conviction” in dealing with unauthorised constructions.
Following this, the housing society returned to the High Court seeking four weeks’ time to vacate. Its counsel argued that the families needed time to find alternative accommodation nearby, especially as some children were enrolled in schools in the area.
The High Court agreed to extend the deadline by three weeks, but stressed that this was a “mercy plea” and warned that no further extensions would be granted. “We permit the residents to occupy the respective flats for a period of three more weeks at their own risk and consequence in the event of any untoward incident,” the court stated.
It also directed the society to file an undertaking within two days, and ordered the BMC to take immediate action — including eviction and sealing of the flats — if the occupants failed to vacate within the given timeframe.