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The Bombay High Court has dismissed petitions challenging the conversion of Mumbai's historic Mayor's Bungalow into a memorial for late leader Bal Thackeray. The bench ruled that the decision is a government policy matter and found no legal basis to interfere. Petitioners had raised concerns over heritage protection, environmental rules, and the composition of the public trust overseeing the memorial. The court noted the bungalow's heritage structure remains intact and restored, and construction is nearly complete. With all legal procedures followed, and the land reclassified from green to residential, the court upheld the INR 1 lease and cleared the path for the memorial's completion.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday rejected legal challenges against a government decision to transform a historical residence into a memorial. This ruling clears the way for the completion of a memorial for late political leader Bal Thackeray, located in Mumbai's Shivaji Park area, by dismissing petitions that questioned the conversion. Advertisement
The division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V Marne stated that they found no valid ground for challenging the decision. The court also noted that the work of setting up the memorial is "virtually complete," and stated that it is a policy decision by the government in which the court is not inclined to interfere. The court said that the petitioners who filed the Public Interest Litigations (PILs) were not opposed to the memorial itself, and their challenge to the site chosen by the government was outside the scope of judicial review.
The court stated that setting up memorials for leaders and persons revered for their contribution constitutes a public purpose, and the executive's decision to establish such memorials is a matter of State policy. A Government Resolution was issued in 2016, granting approval for the memorial at Mayor's Bungalow and for the constitution of a public trust, the Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Samiti. Its construction is nearly complete.
The court also noted that the grandiose structure of the Mayor's Bungalow has been kept intact and restored, and its heritage significance has not been disturbed. The bungalow was built in 1928. Four Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed by activists and NGO Jan Mukti Morcha had challenged the decision.
They claimed the proposed construction violated the Environment Protection Act and the Coastal Zone Regulation notification. The petitioners also claimed that since the bungalow is a heritage structure, it cannot be converted into a memorial. They further challenged the composition of the trust, calling it a "family affair."
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the state government opposed the petitions. They stated that the plot on which the memorial is to be constructed does not fall within a green zone anymore, since it was earmarked for a residential zone through a government notification, as per provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act. The civic body also submitted that all necessary procedures were followed for its construction.
The court also noted that while the petitioners challenged the trust's composition, only 3 of its 11 members are members of Shiv Sena, with two, Thackeray's son, Uddhav, and grandson, Aditya, being actual family members. It also stated that any land chosen in Mumbai would be valuable, and hence the allotment of the land on lease with a nominal rent of Re 1 is also a policy decision that the court cannot interfere with.
The court further noted that since the work is virtually complete and the Mayor's Bungalow has been restored with its heritage significance intact, this served as another reason not to interfere in the impugned decisions and actions.
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