Court orders demolition of 22-storied building in Kondhwa

A Pune city court has ordered demolition of a 22 storied building constructed by Clover Developers in Clover Highlands Co-operative Housing society in Kondhwa

A Pune city court has ordered demolition of a 22 storied building constructed by Clover Developers in Clover Highlands Co-operative Housing society in Kondhwa.

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Nine residents of the society had approached the court stating that the construction of buildings was not part of the plan when the society handover took place in 2007.

The petition before Pune civil court senior division was filed in 2018 by the litigants in the form of a suit for declaration, cancellation and injunction under specific relief act and Section 7 of the Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act, 1963.

Judge SMA Sayyed in his order stated that all the revised and sanctioned plans after the plan dated Feb 6, 2007,stand cancelled being void ab initio.

“If these defendants failed to comply the said order within stipulated time, plaintiffs are at liberty to demolish the said structure by incurring own expenses and recovered the said expenses from defendant.” the order stated.

The order added that, “Defendant No. 1 (Clover Developers Private Limited) and two ( Everjoy Co­-operative Housing Society Limited (Phase­1) are hereby directed to pay rupees five lakhs jointly and severally to the plaintiffs as compensation towards damages, harassment and mental agony and inconvenience caused to them within four months from the date of this order. ”

The court in its 95-pageorder directed Clover Developers Private Limited, through its directors Raj Kanaksen Bhansali and Dhiren Nandu, and the neighbouring Everjoy Co-operative Housing Society Limited (Phase 1) ‘against undertaking any construction of building 8 and building 9 (buildings in dispute)’. The judge also directed by the way of a mandatory injunction that the two buildings in dispute be demolished, within a period of four months from the date of the order.

Maj R Dave, one of the petitioners said, “When the first barricades came up, I’d walk past it with my dogs and think to myself, that someone should do something about it, to restore our land and facilities to us. In time, I realized that the “someone” would have to be me. And there were some others who thought alike. We didn’t know enough when we started out, but with a determined and industrious team who put together an indisputable trail of documentation, with belief in the judicial system, resilience in the face of such odds, a gutsy advocate and some luck, we stood up to be counted.”

Everjoy co-­operative housing society representative Kiran Wagaj said, “The builder is not affecting any additional constructions in the building in which plaintiffs have purchased flats. Our construction is phase wise we have completed phase 1 and now another phase is going on. Flat purchase society is well aware about the right of defendant to effect construction of second phase and they have ratified the right of Clover to effect additional construction in their general body meeting. Clover Highland society has filed suit but subsequently they withdrew the suit. Plaintiffs do not have locus standi to file suit. The court has stayed an order for 90 days i.e. until the appeal period. We are challenging this judgement before honourable high court. As per section 7A of Maharashtra flat ownership act consent of flat purchasers are not required for construction of second phase.”