Chargesheet Filed Against Five Accused in Kandivli Land-Grab Case

Mumbai: Seven months after Mumbai police registered an FIR in a land-grab case in Kandivli, the property cell of the city crime branch last week filed a chargesheet against five accused. The Times of India (TOI) was the first to report on this case last August.

Of the 17 acres of land in question, 10 acres were reserved for public purposes and had already been surrendered to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, the accused allegedly sold the BMC portion to a third party. The accused, Rinkesh Vadilal Shah, his late father Vadilal Shah, Jagdish Bhat, Girish Bhat, Suresh Bhat, and Vatsala Joshi, allegedly executed sale deeds between 2024 and 2025, by submitting defective declarations in the name of deceased people.

The probe found fabricated ownership claims, continued property tax payments in deceased persons' names, and wrongful conveyance of society-held and reserved plots to create false titles and monetary gain, as stated in the chargesheet. The accused have been booked for cheating, forgery, and under the Registration Act 1908.

The case was filed by BMC officials in August last year, alleging that the original landowners, along with the developers, fraudulently sold the BMC-acquired land to third parties based on a power of attorney. According to investigation records, the Kandivli land was originally purchased by Nanubhai Bhat in 1943. Out of the total 67,932 sq. m. land, approximately 29,969 sq. m. was reserved for public purposes under the 1967 Development Plan and was to be transferred to the BMC, while the remaining unreserved portion was to be developed.

To facilitate development, Nanubhai Bhat and his heirs formed M/s Indian Plumbingo in 1973 and entered into agreements with developer U.B. Luthria and Elel Hotels and Investment between 1974 and 1978. In December 1978, the reserved plot was formally transferred to the Municipal Corporation, and 18 buildings were subsequently constructed on the unreserved land through various housing societies using increased Floor Space Index (FSI) linked to the surrender of the reserved land.

Investigators found that although the developer and architect were required to demarcate the reserved land and record the Municipal Corporation's name on the property card, this condition was never fulfilled despite official correspondence in 1985 and 1989. The land records continued to reflect Nanubhai Bhat's name until 2001.

The probe further states that in 2004, Jagdish Bhat allegedly executed a power of attorney in favor of Vadilal Shah and Vijay Sheth for the entire 17-acre land, despite authority being limited to only about 7 acres and 12 guntas. Officials allege that this expanded authority was misused. Despite the disputed ownership and the fact that some alleged executants of the power of attorney were deceased, the firm M/s Shah & Sons, run by Vadilal Shah and his son Rinkesh Shah, allegedly sold multiple plots between October 2024 and January 14, 2025, by submitting a defective declaration regarding the power of attorney at the Sub-Registrar's Office.