Amol IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 512 OF 2023

1. Ashapura Ramdev Buildcon LLP, Through its partner Mr Dhaval Bhadra a Limited Liability Partnership Firm registered under the provisions of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, having its place of business at 10, Mithila Shopping Centre, Ground Floor, VM Road, Juhu Scheme, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400 049.

2. Dhaval Bhadra, Aged: 29, Indian Inhabitant, Partner of the Petitioner No.1 having Office Address at 10, Mithila Shopping Centre, Ground Floor, VM Road, Juhu Scheme, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400 049.

3. Ramdev Builders &

Developers, Through its partner Mr Ashok Patel Alias Board a Partnership Firm registered under the Provisions of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, having its place of business at A-001, Renuja AMOL PREMNATH Palace, Building No. 26, JADHAV Near Srusti Bridge, Shanti Park, Digitally signed by Mira Road (East), Thane 401 107.

AMOL PREMNATH

JADHAV

Date: 2023.06.09

4. Ashok Patel Alias Borad, Aged: 46, Indian Inhabitant, Partner of the Petitioner No.3 having Office Address at A-001, Renuja Palace, Building No.26, Near Srustri Bridge, Shanti Park, Mira Road (East), Thane 401 107. …Petitioners ~ versus ~

1. State of Maharashtra, Through the Housing Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai 400 032.

2. High Power Committee -

(ACB), Administrative Building, Prof Anant Kanekar Marg, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051.

3. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Having its address at Administrative Building, Prof Anant Kanekar Marg, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051. 4. The Chief Executive Officer, Slum Rehabilitation Authority, having his address at Administrative Builders, Prof. Anant Kanekar Marg, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051.

5. Executive Engineer-IV, Slum Rehabilitation Authority having its address at Administrative Building, Prof Anant Kanekar Marg, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051.

6. Shivaji Nagar Rahiwasi SRA CHS (Prop), Having its address at FP No. 386 and

387, Village Shimpoli, TPS-III, Borivali (West), Mumbai 400 092. …Respondents APPEARANCES for the petitioner Dr Abhinav Chandrachud , with Vaibhav Charalwar, Santosh Pathak, Nimish Lotlikar, i/b Santosh Pathak.

for respondent no.1- Mr LT Satelkar, AGP.

state for respondent Mr Vijay Patil.

no.2-agrc for respondents Mr Jagdish G Aradwad (Reddy).

nos. 3, 4 & 5-SRA for respondent no.6 Mr P Ranjan, i/b Shashank Boarde.

CORAM : G.S.Patel &

Neela Gokhale, JJ.

DATED : 7th June 2023 ORAL JUDGMENT ( Per GS Patel J) :-

1. Rule. Returnable forthwith.

2. The Petitioners claim to own final plot No. 387 of Town Planning Scheme-III at Shimpoli, Boriwali west. The Petitioners say that they have “undertaken” a redevelopment project not only on this land FP 387 but also sought to expand it to the adjacent or abutting plots FP No. 386, (government-owned) and FP No. 389 (owned by and vested in MTNL).

3. This tells us that of the three plots there is only one to which the Petitioner claims title as owner. That is FP 387. The challenge is to an order of 21st February 2019. We find a copy of this order at page no. 44. It was passed by the High Power Committee. It seems that this was a suo moto proceeding and what engaged the committee was a question of “approval of layout without a clear title of ownership”. That is all that concerns us today.

4. The Petitioner produced before this committee a registered deed of confirmation saying that it was under this registered deed that the Petitioner had acquired title to FP 387. The High Power Committee, in our view entirely erroneously, proceeded to hold that Petitioner “did not have clear title” inter alia because it had not produced a registered conveyance.

5. The entire approach is fundamentally flawed. The deed of confirmation is a registered document. If it has to be questioned or set aside, this is not achieved by some committee forming an opinion. A question of title is the exclusive preserve of a Court of competent civil jurisdiction. Some person would have to challenge