Underworld behind this: Supreme Court upholds demolition of 17 illegal buildings in Thane

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with an interim order passed by the Bombay High Court directing the Thane Municipal Corporation to demolish 17 unauthorised buildings constructed on encroached land by builders with links to the underworld [Danish Zaheer Siddiqui vs. State of Maharashtra].A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan dismissed the appeal filed by a purchaser of one of the flats in these buildings, who claimed to represent over 400 families affected by the demolition order. The Bench noted that the High Court had passed a well-considered order and refused to entertain any challenge at this stage..The Bench questioned how the petitioner had purchased a flat without proper documentation or verification of land title or permissions. During the hearing, Justice Manmohan made strong observations criticising the lack of planning approvals, the role of the builders, and the misuse of innocent purchasers to shield large-scale unauthorised construction.“Kudos to the High Court for taking a right decision. See, you encroached on some third party’s land and built a property without taking any sanctions. There is no rule of law and please see, these are persons with underworld connections,” Justice Manmohan said.He also commented on the strategy allegedly employed by the builders to use homebuyers as a shield in litigation. “I will see this again—good strategy bringing a noble soul at front, but the fact is that the underworld is behind all this,” he remarked.The Bombay High Court’s order was passed in a petition filed by a woman who claimed ownership of the land on which the buildings had been constructed. She alleged that land mafias had illegally occupied her property and built five-storey buildings without permissions. The High Court had noted the failure of the municipal authorities to prevent such constructions and directed immediate demolition, observing that only such firm action could restore the rule of law..During today's hearing, Justice Manmohan warned that the continuation of such unauthorised construction posed a danger to any city. “Next, your Bombay will get encroached. That’s all that remains to be done. Please feel for your city, otherwise everything will get encroached. For once, the Bombay High Court has taken a very courageous stand,” he remarked..Ultimately, the Court recorded that the counsel appearing for the petitioner had sought liberty to withdraw the petition and approach the High Court against the builder. “We express no opinion. After hearing the matter for some time, the learned senior counsel seeks liberty to withdraw the application and with liberty to approach the High Court,” the bench recorded in its order.