Home in Mumbai comes with sentiments, says HC

The judges said that the society cannot be compelled to continue with the developer under these circumstances. Since the redevelopment entails commercial gains and incentives like FSI, the completion of the project “ought not to be procrastinated indefinitely, on some pretext or the other”, the court said

MUMBAI: Granting no relief to a developer who had delayed a redevelopment project in Kalachowkie by 18 years, the Bombay High Court observed that there was sentimentality attached to owning a home in Mumbai and builders and developers had to factor in the “hope and aspiration” that come with it.

Mumbai, India. Oct 27, 2026 - View of the Sanaswadi building on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road in the Chinchpokli area of central Mumbai, India. Oct 27, 2026. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

“Besides the hard-earned money that is put in for a house in Mumbai, there is an investment of emotions, feelings and sentiments attached to having a home in their city of dreams, which cannot be procrastinated. In such context, developers have a huge responsibility cast upon them in law to ensure that their obligation in terms of handing over possession of the flats through a redevelopment scheme or otherwise is done in a timely manner,” a division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna observed in their order passed on Monday.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Om Shanti Properties (OSP), the developer, who had undertaken the redevelopment of Parijat Cooperative Housing Society consisting of 181 members in Kalachowkie. OSP had moved court against a termination notice issued by the society on February 11, 2025. It had urged the court to strike down the notice and restore the redevelopment project it had bagged in 2008 with majority consent of the members.

Inordinate delays in completion of redevelopment projects, the court said, “not only augment the plight of the tenants, flat owners, occupiers or beneficiaries of a redevelopment scheme, but also defeat the purpose which the law in this regard intends to achieve”, the order said.

On March 31, 2008 the erstwhile partners of OSP were appointed developers of Parijat housing society, which included two buildings, a chawl, 19 garages, two temples, one gymnasium and two godowns. In 2017, the BMC first issued a show cause notice for inaction by the developer and on July 16, 2018, it terminated the redevelopment contract.

In February 2019, the BMC allowed OSP to continue with the project after it paid capital value of ₹27.68 crore. The court was told that the developer had agreed to terminate the project if he did not complete it by 2022.

When there was no movement on the project after 2020, the BMC sought to terminate the letter of intent and blacklist the developer. In June 2024, however, OSP executed a permanent alternative accommodation agreement with the society members. In 2025, however, the society terminated the development agreement and told OPS it wanted to appoint a new developer, which it did in September this year.

OPS claimed the delay in resuming redevelopment could not be attributed only to it as implementing the project depended on several steps involving the housing society and the BMC.

However, the society said the builder had failed to carry out the redevelopment for almost two decades. It added that the ₹27 crore payment by OSP was on account of repeated defaults and did not create any equity or entitlement in their favour when redevelopment remained stuck for several years.

The judges said that the society cannot be compelled to continue with the developer under these circumstances. Since the redevelopment entails commercial gains and incentives like FSI, the completion of the project “ought not to be procrastinated indefinitely, on some pretext or the other”, the court said.