BHARATI H. DANGRE, J.

1. The writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 is invoked by the petitioners seeking a writ for quashing and setting aside of the letter dated 14.11.2017 issued by the Executive Engineer of Municipal Corporation of the Greater Mumbai (hereinafter referred to as 'MCGM') directing the petitioners to stop work at the subject property. A writ in the nature of the mandamus is also sought seeking direction to the respondent Nos.5 to 7 i.e. the MCGM and it's Officers to process and sanction all planning permission for construction of the building located at Kanjurmarg without insisting on a 'No Objection Certificate' (for short 'NOC') from the respondent Nos.1 to 3 and in accordance with the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (for short 'MRTP Act') and Development Control Regulations for Greater Mumbai, 1991 (for short 'DCR'). Relief is also sought for calling for the record and proceedings in respect of the letters issued by the Ministry of Defence, Union of India refusing to grant NOC to the petitioner for construction of the building.

A brief chronology of events for effective adjudication of the issue involved in the Writ Petition would be necessary. The petitioner No.1 is a Society duly registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act. The petitioner No.2 is a Developer and a development agreement was entered between the petitioner No.2 and petitioner No.1 in the year 2014 for demolishing the existing building located on CTS No.10/83 of Village-Tirandaz, Powai Estate in Bombay suburban and for construction of new building for rehabilitating the existing members of the petitioner No.1 in the said new building. It is not in dispute that the said property is situated at a distance of approximately 200 metres from the Naval Civil Housing Colony (for short "NCHC"). The petitioners applied for planning permission to MCGM in the year 2015 and the plans came to be sanctioned and the Intimation for Disapproval (for short 'IOD') was issued by MCGM on 08.05.2015. The IOD stipulated several conditions but the condition of seeking prior approval/NOC of the Naval Establishment was not a part of the stipulation. The Commencement Certificate which came to be granted on 16.11.2016 after compliance of the conditions mentioned in the IOD also did not include any stipulation about prior approval/NOC of the Naval Establishment. Pursuant to the said planning permission received from Corporation from time to time, the petitioner No.2 started construction of the building on the subject property and by September 2016, the construction was completed upto 7th Floor.

The approval was sought for allowing utilization of 400.00 sq.metres and deduction of 400.00 sq. metres as proposed in the utilization for proposed redevelopment and the said proposal was forwarded in consonance with the provision of DCR 1991, prevailing policy and the government notification. It is at this stage the MCGM issued a letter on 14.11.2017 directing the petitioner's Architect to stop construction of the work. The said letter issued by the MCGM was based on letter dated 27.10.2017 which was issued by the Western Naval Command to MCGM, thereby refusing NOC for construction by the petitioners. The petitioners preferred a representation to the MCGM for grant of such NOC and the Naval Authorities rejected the said request by letter dated 09.03.2018 thereby bringing the construction of the petitioners as a grinding halt.

2. It is with this aforesaid grievance, the petitioners have filed the present Writ Petition. The petitioners assailed the action of the MCGM based on the refusal of grant of NOC by the respondent Naval Authority and the action on part of the MCGM is sought to be challenged on the ground that it is arbitrary, ultra vires, without jurisdiction and in contrast to the express provisions of the MRTP Act, 1966