IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 706 OF 2024 M/s Jabs International Pvt Ltd .. Petitioners Versus State of Maharashtra & Ors .. Respondents Mr. Atul Rajadhyaksha, Senior Advocate with Mr. Nishant Tripathi, Pranav Vaidya i/b M. Tripathi & Co, Advocates for the Petitioners.

Mr. K. S. Thorat ‘B’ Panel Counsel, for the State/Respondent Nos.1, 4 ,5 and 6.

Mr. Prashant Chawan, Senior Advocate with Poonam Seth i/b Navdeep Vora & Associates, Advocates for Respondent Nos.2 and 3.

Mr. S. D. Valvi, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Thane (L. R. P. &

Wildlife) is present.

ANJALI D by ig A it N al J l A y L s I igned TUSHART A U SW SH A A L R E ASWALEDate: 2025.07.29

15:05:40 +0530 CORAM: B. P. COLABAWALLA &

FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, JJ.

ORAL JUDGMENT: [ PER B. P. COLABAWALLA, J. ]

1. Rule. Respondents waive service. With the consent of parties, Rule made returnable forthwith and heard finally.

2. The above Writ Petition has been filed seeking the following reliefs:-

“a. That that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue the writ of certiorari or a writ in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction calling for the records and proceedings pertaining to Plot No. A-350/1 and upon its scrutiny, be further pleased to quash and set aside the letter dated 28^th September 2015 issued by the Respondent No.2 informing the Petitioners that the said land (Plot No. A-350/1)

is recorded as “the Government Forest”.

a(i). That this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction calling for the records and proceedings of the Appeal of the MIDC before the Ld. Ld Sub-Divisional Officer, Thane (Kra. TD/Te-6/Kha.Van/SR-01/2025) and upon examining the validity of the order dated 12^th February 2025 (Exhibit K to the Petition) passed by the Ld. Sub-Divisional Officer, Thane, be pleased to quash and set aside the same;

b. That this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue the writ of mandamus or writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order and direction directing the Respondent No.2 to (a) execute and register the Lease Deed thereby vesting into the Petitioners Plot No. A-350/1, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai-400 710, (b) to hand over to the Petitioners possession of Plot No.A-350/1, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai- 400 710.

c. That in the event of this Hon’ble Court not being pleased to grant prayer clause (b) supra, be pleased to the issuance of writ of mandamus or writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate, writ, order and direction directing the Respondent No.2 to (a) execute and register the Lease Deed thereby vesting into the Petitioners Plot No. A-829, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai- 400 710, (b) to hand over to the Petitioners possession of Plot No. A-829, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai- 400 710”.

3. At the outset, Mr. Rajadhyaksha, the learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners pressed the above Petition only in terms of prayer clauses (a), (a-i) and (b) of the above Writ Petition.

4. According to Mr. Rajadhyaksha, the Petitioners have been constrained to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to impugn the arbitrary & unreasonable acts attributable to the 2^nd and the 4^th Respondents. The gravamen of this Petition emanates from the fact that Respondent No.2 had initially allotted a plot of land, namely, Plot A-350/1 in the Trans Thane Creek Industrial Area (“TTC Industrial Area”) to the Petitioners and which was adjoining to their existing facility on Plot A-350. Plot A-350/1 was allotted to the Petitioners for the purpose of expanding their manufacturing and processing capabilities. Towards this allotment, MIDC (2^nd Respondent) also collected more than Rs.5 Crores (in the year 2015) towards the lease premium and yet did not handover physical possession of Plot A-350/1. According to MIDC, possession of Plot A-35