Bombay HC asks BMC to decide on Narayan Rane’s plea

The Union Minister’s petition seeks to regularise illegal changes in his bungalow at Juhu

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to decide on Union Minister Narayan Rane's petition to regularise illegal changes in his bungalow at Juhu.

A Division Bench of Justices A.A. Sayed and Abhay Ahuja said, "Once a decision is taken by the civic body in case of an adverse order, no coercive or punitive action shall be taken for a period of three weeks thereafter."

The court was hearing Mr. Rane's plea challenging three notices issued to him by the BMC on February 25 and March 4 and March 16. The notices direct Mr. Rane to remove the alterations otherwise it would be compelled to demolish the same and recover all the charges from the owner.

Mr. Rane had moved the court seeking to quash and set aside all the three notices and called them “perverse, illegal and in violation of his fundamental rights”.

Senior advocate Milind Sathe, appearing for the petitioner, said the BMC had not followed the law in the present case and claimed there was no violation. He said, “The said bungalow was granted an Occupation Certificate by the BMC in January 2013. It has been occupied since then. Now suddenly, in 2022, all this action has been taken."

Senior advocate Aspi Chinoy, representing the civic body, said there had been several illegal alterations in the bungalow.

The petition states the notices were issued in the name of a company 'Artline Properties Private Limited' which was amalgamated and merged with another company in which Mr. Rane's family has a share. After the notice was sent, Mr. Rane's wife and son had replied to the notice being erstwhile directors of the company. The plea points out the Rane family had made a payment of ₹8,790 to retain the allegedly illegal portions of the bungalow.