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The Bombay High Court has ordered a judicial probe into 935 redevelopment notices issued by the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB), a MHADA unit, after finding they were based on visual checks rather than mandatory structural audits. A bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Arif Doctor called the notices arbitrary and possibly driven by vested interests to exploit redevelopment. The court struck down a 2024 SOP that gave officials undue powers and appointed a two-member judicial committee. Retired Justice J.P. Devadhar and Retired Judge Vilas D. Dongre to investigate. Of the notices, 46 were withdrawn and 889 put on hold, reinforcing property rights and curbing misuse of authority.
The Bombay High Court has ordered a judicial investigation into 935 redevelopment notices issued by the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB), a unit of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). The notices were sent to owners of cessed buildings in prime areas across Mumbai and were based solely on visual inspections, not on mandatory structural audits required by law. Advertisement
A bench comprising Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Arif Doctor found the notices to be an arbitrary and illegal act by executive engineers, potentially motivated by improper interests to exploit redevelopment gains. The court observed that a building cannot be declared dangerous by an official's word alone and that proper legal procedures must be followed. The court also noted that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) dated December 5, 2024, which MHADA officials had relied on, was an attempt to create an illegal parallel system that gave officials power they did not possess.
The court has established a two-member judicial committee, including Retired Justice J.P. Devadhar and Retired District Judge Vilas D. Dongre, to investigate the legitimacy of the notices, the roles and motives of officials, and any actions taken to withdraw them. The court has ordered 46 notices issued after an earlier judgment to be withdrawn, and the remaining 889 to be put on hold.
There are over 13,000 old cessed buildings in Mumbai that MHADA is meant to repair, but the court has consistently ruled that a building's age alone does not make it dangerous. The High Court's ruling defends property rights and checks the misuse of government power, sending a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated.
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