L&T directed to hand over AM Naik’s Pali Hill bungalow plot to owners

The conglomerate had taken the prime residential property on lease from the Kothari family and other co-owners in the 1940s. While the formal lease expired in 1970, the landlord group initiated eviction proceedings in 2001 after terminating the tenancy

Mumbai: The Supreme Court has directed Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to hand over the plot housing a bungalow on Pali Hill, Bandra that served as its former chairman Anil Manibhai Naik’s residence for over two decades to more than 15 co-owners.

L&T directed to hand over AM Naik’s Pali Hill bungalow plot to owners

The conglomerate had taken the prime residential property on lease from the Kothari family and other co-owners in the 1940s. While the formal lease expired in 1970, the landlord group initiated eviction proceedings in 2001 after terminating the tenancy.

During pendency of the litigation, L&T acquired a 7% undivided share in the property from one co-owner and later increased its holding to 29.5%. On this basis, it argued that it had become a co-owner of the plot measuring a little less than an acre and that eviction proceedings could not continue against it.

On March 27, the Bombay High Court rejected L&T’s argument, holding that the objections raised were not bona fide and were tainted with collateral purpose. One co-owner’s objection, particularly when motivated to benefit a tenant, cannot defeat the eviction rights of the remaining co-owners, the court held. Strategic acquisition of minority shares during litigation could not be used to circumvent a lawful eviction decree, it said.

L&T representatives refused to comment on the outcome of the litigation.

AM Naik was part of the L&T Group for 58 years. He served as the Mumbai-based conglomerate’s chairman and managing director from December 2003 till September 2023, when he relinquished the charge as group chairman.