HC quashes stop work notice against Worli society close to INS Trata

Bombay HC grants relief to 96 families in Worli's Shiv Kiran Co-op Housing Society, allowing redevelopment work to resume. MHADA ordered to grant necessary permissions. Court cites parity and right to equality in denying permission based on proximity to defense bases.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday granted relief to 96 families living in the Shivaji Nagar Shiv Kiran Cooperative Housing Society in Worli, whose redevelopment was halted due to a defence circular restricting constructions near military bases.

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A bench comprising justice Gautam Patel and justice Kamal Khata quashed a stop-work notice issued by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) against the society. The court further directed MHADA to grant all necessary permissions to resume redevelopment work, emphasising that 22 other high-rise buildings exist much closer to the INS Trata site, a defence establishment. The court, citing parity and the right to equality, concluded that denying permission based on proximity alone wasn’t justified.

The Ministry of Defense has issued several circulars over time, restricting constructions near military bases due to security concerns. In 2011, it issued a circular restricting buildings over four stories within a 500-meter radius of defense bases. In December 2022, it modified this circular, reducing the area to 50 meters. However, in February 2023, the defense ministry indefinitely suspended this circular, and in October 2023, the Bombay high court struck it down for violating property enjoyment rights.

The housing society, near INS Trata, sought to redevelop its dilapidated building after obtaining MHADA’s permission in September 2018. After seeking NOC from the Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy, and receiving no response for nine months, the Executive Engineer, MHADA, sanctioned the building plans. The society demolished the buildings and moved residents to temporary accommodations pursuant to permission. However, as a precaution, the society obtained a report from an Institute of Remote Sensing survey in Chennai confirming that the distance from INS Trata to the society was over 500 meters, making the Navy NOC unnecessary. This was also forwarded to the commander of INS-Trata. Despite the finding, MHADA issued a stop-work notice at the Ministry of Defense’s behest in March 2023.

During the hearing, the society argued that it was beyond the restricted area according to the original circular, thus not requiring a Navy NOC. It highlighted other nearby buildings erected closer to Trata, some exceeding 20 floors, that received NOCs after the initial circular’s issuance.

The Navy claimed ignorance about permissions granted to nearby buildings and vowed legal action against Harisiddhi Heights, a building constructed without its permission.

Considering the ‘peculiar’ circumstances, the court noted the impossibility of undoing a right crystallised before the stop-work notice. It recognised the rights granted to other buildings and consequently deemed it unfair to deny the same rights to the petitioner society.