HC strikes down order that revoked OC for 13-storeyed complex in Navi Mumbai

In 2017, the Satra Plaza Premises Cooperative Society had moved the high court challenging the December 27, 2016, order of the commissioner, more than four-and-half years after the OC was issued in February 2012. The developer, Satra Properties (India) Ltd, had failed to obtain the NOC, as stated in the February 2012 OC.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court had struck down an order of the Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner that revoked the occupancy certificate (OC) issued to a 13-storeyed commercial complex after the developer failed to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). The OC can be revoked only on the grounds mentioned in the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, it said.

The society also said that the cancellation of OC caused serious prejudice to its members as it could never be contemplated that in respect of a legally constructed building, in which premises are purchased by third-party purchasers, being revoked of its OC, creating a situation that it would not be possible for the members of the petitioner to deal with their own premises. (Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

In 2017, the Satra Plaza Premises Cooperative Society had moved the high court challenging the December 27, 2016, order of the commissioner, more than four-and-half years after the OC was issued in February 2012. The developer, Satra Properties (India) Ltd, had failed to obtain the NOC, as stated in the February 2012 OC.

The society also sought a declaration that the condition imposed in the OC to obtain NOC from CIDCO was ultra-vires the provisions of the MRTP Act and the general development control regulations for Navi Mumbai.

The society also said that the cancellation of OC caused serious prejudice to its members as it could never be contemplated that in respect of a legally constructed building, in which premises are purchased by third-party purchasers, being revoked of its OC, creating a situation that it would not be possible for the members of the petitioner to deal with their own premises.

On Thursday, the division bench of Justice GS Kulkarni and Justice Kamal Khata accepted the argument advanced on behalf of the petitioner society and held that the municipal commissioner could alter planning permissions and revoke OCs only if necessitated under an approved or draft development plan and not otherwise.

“It is clear that the OC has been revoked for breach of condition, namely that Satra Properties did not produce NOC from CIDCO within one year of the issuance of the OC,” said the bench.

“The breach of condition of the OC, is no ground, as section 51(1) of the MRTP Act would contemplate and authorise or empower the municipal corporation to cancel the OC. The reason assigned by the municipal commissioner has nothing to do with the development plan or any proposed development plan and hence, on the clear implication of the provisions of section 51(1), the impugned order cancelling OC is rendered illegal,” the bench concluded.

Apart from setting aside the cancellation, the court also restrained the municipal corporation from taking any coercive steps against the society, as contemplated under the December 2016 order.