The Bombay High Court constituted a Special Committee for municipal administrative reform and directed lawful action against illegal commercial occupation in a ten-floor skeleton structure at Dadar, where twelve ground floor commercial premises have been occupied without Municipal Corporation approval or Occupation Certificate for almost 12 years, while 110 residential tenants remain deprived of their legitimate tenements for over 15 years.
The Division Bench comprising Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Kamal Khata observed that the case presented very serious concerns in regard to the several illegalities and noted that the twelve ground floor premises are occupied by the tenants, who are running full-fledged commercial establishments/shops, however, without any approval from the Municipal Corporation and an Occupation Certificate. The Court expressed dismay at the conduct of municipal officers, observing that 110 residential tenants have been deprived of their rightful homes for over 15 years, while a few commercial tenants are illegally exploiting the benefits. The judges termed the municipal administration’s conduct as gross dereliction of duties and a total failure of the municipal governance by non-adherence to the provisions of law.
The petitioner contended that illegal occupation of commercial premises without Occupation Certificate violated Section 353A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, which mandates that no person shall occupy or permit to be occupied any such building until permission is received. The respondent Municipal Corporation fairly acknowledged through his council that the most glaring aspect of the case is that for all these years, i.e., for almost 12 years, no effective notices under any of the provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 or the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966 were issued.
The central legal question examined by the Bench was the systematic failure of municipal governance in enforcing statutory provisions against unauthorized occupation of commercial structures and whether municipal officers could perpetuate illegalities through deliberate inaction. The judges scrutinized whether the failure to issue notices under Section 353A of MMC Act and Section 53 of MRTP Act for over 12 years constituted gross dereliction of duty, and whether the acquittal in prosecution under Section 471 of MMC Act due to hearsay evidence represented a deliberate attempt to legitimize illegal occupation.
Accordingly, the Court constituted a Special Committee comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice G.S. Patel (Former Judge) and Mr. Naushad Engineer (Senior Advocate) to make recommendations on municipal litigation management and administrative reforms within four months. The Municipal Commissioner was directed to recommend four officers to join the Committee and provide necessary secretarial assistance.
The Court directed that all lawful actions be taken by the Municipal Corporation in regard to the situation which is already now noticed by the officers concerned and called for appropriate departmental action against officers who perpetuated illegalities. The Court questioned why the Municipal Corporation is required to be one of the largest litigants in the Mumbai Courts and emphasized that there can never be a reckless approach by any official of the municipal corporation while stressing the need for accountability on each of these officers and employees.
Appearances:
Petitioners: Mr. Sanjiv Sawant with associates for WP/1658/2012; Mr. Shubham Bane with associates for other petitions; Mr. J.M. D’Silva with V.N. Gupta for WP/547/2017
Respondents: Multiple Government Pleaders for various State respondents; Mr. G.S. Godbole, Senior Advocate with associates for BMC; Mr. P.G. Lad with associates for MHADA