THE SUPREME Court docket final week directed the Mumbai Police to vacate two flats in south Mumbai inside 4 months and hand them over to the homeowners — a Shroff household, which had within the 1940’s given the flats to the Mumbai Police on lease.
At the moment, the Mumbai Police are utilizing the 2 flats measuring 600 sqft every, situated at Amar Bhavan constructing at Opera Home in south Mumbai, to accommodate their employees. The police had been earlier paying a month-to-month lease of Rs 700 for every flat.
Whereas passing the order on Tuesday, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan stated, “We put aside the impugned order handed by Bombay Excessive Court docket and permit the unique writ petition most well-liked by the candidates. We grant 4 months time to the respondents from at this time handy over vacant and peaceable possession of each flats to the appellants.”
“Shri Nitin Pawar DCP HQ Mumbai Police who’s personally current within the court docket shall file an affidavit within the type of an endeavor that the vacant and peaceable possession of the 2 flats shall be handed over to the candidates inside a interval of 4 months. Such endeavor shall be filed inside one week earlier than the registry workplace,” the bench stated.
It additional instructed the police that it had the cash and the ability to maneuver their employees another place and pay the lease. “It has come to our discover at this time… that these two flats should not utilised as places of work of the police division however two households are residing in these flats,” the bench noticed orally.
“We’re pleased we had been in a position to do justice to the appellants who’ve been frantically attempting to get again their property which the state occupied method again in 1940,” the bench stated.
The SC order talked about, “The Excessive Court docket ought to have stored the 12 months in thoughts i.e. 1940. This nation was dominated by the Britishers. The nation was combating laborious to hunt independence from the Britishers. Bombay within the 12 months 1940 was altogether completely different. On the related level of time, the division maybe may need persuaded the appellants or their predecessors in title to half with the possession of the 2 flats for the Police Division. Nevertheless, it has been now 84 years that the Police Division has been in occupation and use of the 2 flats. Take a look at the conduct of the division. We’re knowledgeable that previous eighteen years even lease has not been paid.”
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Flats on this constructing, like a number of others in south Mumbai, had been requisitioned underneath the then Defence of India Act, which allowed the British rulers of the time to take possession of personal properties. After acquiring freedom, a number of of those flats had been then given to the Mumbai Police personnel at a nominal lease.
Nevertheless, over the many years, the lease quantity remained nominal and the households or their heirs sought the return of the property. As per the Maharashtra Lease Management Act, 1999, a landlord will not be allowed to take possession of any premises so long as the tenant pays for it or is prepared to pay lease.
A senior police officer stated police would not have a report of the variety of such flats and therefore in a number of circumstances lease will not be paid, which may turn out to be a floor for the owner to take the flat again.
A number of landowners just like the Shroff household on this case go into litigation looking for return of property as lease will not be paid. Of their case, whereas the Bombay Excessive Court docket refused to entertain their plea asking them to method the suitable discussion board — Court docket of Small Causes — the Supreme Court docket granted the household reduction.
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In an identical case, the Bombay Excessive Court docket had in 2023 directed the Maharashtra authorities handy over two south Mumbai flats close to Metro cinema to a 93-year-old lady that had been occupied by the authorized heirs of a former authorities official.
Heirs of the federal government official had appealed the Excessive Court docket order earlier than the Supreme Court docket which upheld the Excessive Court docket order.
A number of such flats are at the moment in litigation with the property homeowners looking for their flats again on grounds that lease is unpaid. What additional makes it troublesome for the police is the truth that they don’t have the mandatory papers within the type of lease settlement signed many years again.
A senior police officer requesting anonymity stated, “We’re awaiting the Supreme Court docket order copy following which we are going to resolve if we should always go for a evaluate petition within the SC.”
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The officer added, “We now have additionally requested all 5 areas within the metropolis police to offer an inventory of such properties in order that we will take essential motion.”
The officer added that within the absence of lodging within the metropolis, the officers have to maneuver to remote locations and spend a number of hours a day travelling to the town.
