Bombay High Court Orders Eviction of Residents in 34-Storey Building Without Occupation Certificate

The Bombay High Court has issued a stern directive to the residents of the top 18 floors in a 34-storey building in Tardeo, Mumbai, to vacate their flats within two weeks. The court criticized the residents as 'a selfish lot' who are not concerned about the safety and well-being of others. The building, known as Willingdon Heights, does not have an occupation certificate (OC) for floors 17 to 34, making their occupation illegal.

A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor described the residents' actions as 'brazen illegality' and directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take appropriate action if the order is not complied with. The court emphasized that the affluent flat buyers who have occupied the building without an OC are setting a 'very bad example' and are acting contrary to building regulations.

The court noted that the residents appear to be least bothered about their own lives and the lives of others in the event of any untoward incident. 'If this be so, how can they be bothered about anybody else in the event of any untoward incident taking place?' the court stated, adding that such an approach needs to be 'deprecated'. The court clarified that the residents would be entitled to reoccupy their tenements only after an OC is granted.

The petition was filed by Sunil Jhaveri, a resident of the building, also known as Thakkar Tower, at Tulsiwadi. Jhaveri alleged gross illegalities, including the lack of a fire NOC and only a partial OC for floors 1 to 16. The BMC had flagged illegalities in the construction of floors 17 to 34, including the amalgamation of the 26th and 27th floors. On March 27, the High Court had granted ad interim protection to the residents.

Senior advocate Sharan Jagtiani, representing Jhaveri, submitted notices issued by the BMC from 2011, including over the lack of a fire NOC and directing the removal of unauthorized constructions. In January 2020, occupants of floors 17 to 34 were directed to vacate their flats within seven days. Jagtiani argued that while steps are being taken to regularize the violations on floors 1 to 16, there is no justification for persons to occupy floors 17 to 34 without an OC.

Senior advocate S U Kamdar, representing the BMC, stated that the illegalities need to be restored in conformity with the original plans. He emphasized that the occupation of the entire building without a fire NOC is extremely dangerous. Senior advocate Dinyar Madon, representing the housing society, urged the court to permit residents to continue occupying the building for some time on humanitarian grounds to seek regularization of illegalities and obtain an OC. When asked by the judges, Madon suggested a one-year period.

The judges rejected this request, stating that accepting the proposition would render the entire statutory regime requiring strict compliance 'nugatory and inconsequential'. They emphasized that this would amount to recognizing lawlessness in the occupation of buildings without occupation certificates. The court vacated the March 27 protection and rejected Madon's request to stay the BMC order. The judges noted that the occupants were asked on several occasions to make alternative arrangements, which 'was emphatically made known to them'.

The court posted the hearing of the plea of occupants of floors 1 to 16 for July 29 and directed the BMC to 'stay its hands in resorting to any demolition under the notices'.