Illegal constructions on private land promotes culture of lawlessness, corruption: Bombay HC

The bench said the legislature must urgently intervene and ‘halt this disturbing trend’ and ensure citizens follow the law and offenders get stringent punishments.

In doing so, the court dismissed a plea by a woman challenging the 2015 order of Chief Executive Officer of Pune Cantonment Board that directed demolition of the petitioner’s structure situated on the plot within the ‘red zone’ where no construction is permitted. The court, while rejecting the plea, also directed the petitioner to pay a cost of Rs 1 lakh.

A division bench of Justices Mahesh S Sonak and Kamal R Khata noted that the plea by one Lekha Ali Shaikh illustrated “one among numerous instances of unauthorised constructions on private land, notably erected by the owners themselves without any prior application or approval of the Concerned Authority.”

The bench said the plea showed how the “owner initially innocently constructed a small structure and after a couple of years, in the guise of repairs, reconstructed a significantly larger structure and sought to regularise it.”

Justice Khata, who authored the verdict for the bench observed, “Slumlords frequently employ this strategy to create illegal settlements systematically.

The old proverb, ‘A drop of poison can contaminate the whole well,’ is increasingly becoming a stark reality. A law-abiding citizen wonders: if a lawbreaker like a ‘slumlord’ can construct illegal structures on public and private land without facing the consequences, why shouldn’t a private landowner build without permission or approvals? This idea promotes a culture of lawlessness and corruption, undermining the very foundation of lawful governance.”
The court said the present case offered “a glimpse of a much larger issue.” “It is unacceptable that the courts remain inundated with thousands of such cases. Often, law abiding citizens are forced to take action to either protect their property or to drive the attention of courts with regard to such illegalities to uphold the rule of law,” it noted.

“Whilst it is the court’s unequivocal duty to ensure that citizens comply with the law and that offenders, regardless of influence, are met with strict and decisive punishment, the Legislature, too, must urgently intervene and halt this disturbing trend,” it added.

Petitioner Shaikh had claimed that she was the owner of the land in Mamurdi village in Haveli taluka of Pune district and she purchased 1,500 square feet private land in her minor son’s name from the previous owner through a registered sale deed of 2009. She constructed three rooms, totally 750 square feet area, with a tin roof on the land in 2009.

The court noted that the plea was ‘silent ‘on whether the petitioner had received approvals for the construction with 750 square feet area and if she had availed occupancy certificate for the same. Therefore, she could not show if the said construction was legal and merely assumed the structure was authorised since she paid property taxes.
The bench directed the CEO of the Cantonment Board to file an affidavit as to why no demolition action was taken for the last nine years.