The Bombay High Court has quashed BMC notices seeking possession of Newkem Products Corporation’s private land at Bhandup for widening Aatmaram Bhoir Marg and creating a connector between Gamdevi Road and Lake Road.
A Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad held that while Sections 297 and 299 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act empower the Municipal Commissioner to prescribe a regular street line and take possession of land falling within it, these provisions could not be invoked to acquire the petitioners’ private land in the present case.
The Court noted that the portion sought to be acquired was not an existing road but formed an integral part of the petitioners’ factory, which they had possessed since 1957. The proposed acquisition would substantially affect the factory by separating its stores, canteen, administrative area and discharge facilities, besides affecting loading and unloading operations and existing gas and electrical infrastructure.
The Bench further observed that the proposed connector would save only about 400 metres, while the existing road was already heavily encroached upon and was less than six metres wide at several places despite being sanctioned as a 9.15-metre road. It found no material showing that efforts had been made to restore the existing road width.
Finding merit in the petitioners’ contention that the exercise may have been initiated at the instance of a nearby developer seeking additional connectivity, the Court held that the statutory powers under Sections 297 and 299 cannot be extended to such an exercise.
The Court accordingly quashed the July 5, 2024 and April 1, 2025 notices insofar as they sought possession of the petitioners’ land between points C and D.
