The Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's decision to withdraw permissions granted during the previous civic body's regime for a restaurant and a marriage hall at the Mulund Sports Complex.
Court Proceedings
Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad heard a petition filed by Dhanraj Hospitality and Services, which sought directions to quash the BMC's decision and an interim stay until the petition is decided. The decision was taken after Bharatiya Janata Party functionary Kirit Somaiya alleged irregularities.
Appearing through senior counsel Birendra Saraf and advocate Joel Carlos, the petitioner company stated that in 2021, a BMC-created trust, Brihanmumbai Krida and Lalit Kala Pratishthan, chaired by the mayor and holding the lease to the property, invited bids to develop parts of the sports complex. The company won the tender.
The BMC approved the works in 2023, and the company began operating a restaurant and a marriage hall at the sports complex. However, the BMC issued a show-cause notice in May and passed an order canceling their licenses this month.
Allegations and Response
The petition noted that Somaiya filed a complaint on May 14, after which civic officials recorded that the trust had not submitted any application seeking a completion certificate for alteration work. The company's counsel argued that BMC's inspection reports show all work was done as per the sanctioned plan, and the trust was responsible for applying for the certificate.
The petition explained that the BMC formed the trust in 1988 to encourage sports and cultural activities, and the sports complex was leased to it in 1990 for 30 years, with a further extension of 15 years. Saraf said its trustees include the mayor and civic officers, and development applications must be made by the trust through BMC engineers. The petitioners, as licensees for certain areas, invested over Rs 16 crore to execute work in line with plans approved through the trust. After upgrading the premises, the effort now is to remove them for reasons unrelated to any lapse on their part, he added.
The petition also stated that the BMC issued a common notice to the restaurant and the marriage hall while pointing to breaches in other parts of the complex.
BMC's Stand
Advocate Smita Tondwalkar, representing the BMC, said the completion certificate was not submitted, and therefore the show-cause notice was served and the revocation order passed.
The bench orally observed: “Members of the trust are the mayor and the additional municipal commissioner. Then, would you issue notice to them?”
The BMC is to file its response on the next hearing date.
Related Actions
The BMC had undertaken separate action by demolishing alleged illegal temporary structures and turf installations elsewhere on the premises on May 16, a day after a site inspection by mayor Ritu Tawde and Somaiya. The two had alleged that sports complexes managed by the trust had effectively been “mortgaged” to private contractors through long-term agreements. The demolitions have been challenged separately in court for being undertaken without notice.
