‘Failure of Naval Intelligence’: Bombay HC permits development of high-rise near INS Shikra at builder’s risk till further orders

A division bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Abhay J Mantri passed an interlocutory/interim order on a plea by the Commanding Officer (CO) of INS Shikra alleging “illegal” and “unauthorised” construction of the high-rise building situated within 246 metres of the highly sensitive Naval Air Station and VVIP heliport of Colaba in south Mumbai.

The Navy authority raised apprehensions that the developer was “watching over” its station and further construction would create a direct line of sight into operational and heliport areas, which needed to be protected.

The HC said that if the developer desired to create third-party rights for floors above 53 metres, it should clearly indicate to purchasers about the pendency of the plea and interim order, along with the risk of facing an adverse order.

Senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, for the developer Opul Constructions Pvt Ltd and the BMC, told the court that no such NOC was required from the Navy when the plan for ground plus 19 floors was already approved on March 9, 2011.

On February 16, the HC had noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be landing at the INS Shikra air station on February 17 and, referring to “security protocol”, prohibited workers from entering the building till hearing on February 18.

‘Security threat’

On February 18, the HC had said the Navy should have been “alert” about the construction of the building in question and expressed concern about the “security threat” raised by the authority, while indicating an interim order would be passed on February 20.

Senior advocates R V Govilkar and Mihir Govilkar, for the CO of INS Shikra, argued that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the planning authority, had granted and continued permissions for the building without obtaining the mandatory NOC from the Navy.

The plea also claimed that despite several repeated written objections citing “grave national security and public safety concerns”, the BMC did not take any action.

Govilkar submitted before the HC that the building in question was being put up behind a government building and could not go beyond 53.07 metres (nearly 15 floors). The court noted that the Badhwar Park buildings (belonging to the government and Navy) of ground plus 18 floors (nearly 63 metres height) were between the Navy station and the under-construction Jadhavji Mansion.

“Prima facie, this clearly indicates failure of intelligence on the part of the Navy. When these tower buildings are constructed to the height of 63 metres, we are surprised how the petitioner’s intelligence failed to notice the construction of respondent developer’s building which gradually put floor upon floor and reached ground plus 19 in 2024,” the bench noted in its order.

Posting final hearing to March 30, it added, “From the record, we find that the respondent developer’s building (Jadhavji Mansion) is at its height as it stands today of 69.94 metres since 2024. The petitioner cannot deny several VVIP movements between 2024 and February 2026. Yet, if the said building has gone unnoticed, we find this could only be attributed to the failure of the naval intelligence at the Colaba station.”