The district judge-6 court in Nagpur has upheld the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) eviction action concerning a prime 15,000 square meter land parcel located on Subhash Road near Agyaram Devi square. The court dismissed a batch of eight miscellaneous civil appeals that had been filed against the civic body's eviction notices.
Background of the Case
The appeals, including MCA No. 271/2025 and connected matters, challenged the eviction proceedings initiated by NMC under Section 81-B of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949. The disputed land was originally leased to the Abhyankar Smarak Trust in 1937 for charitable purposes.
Court's Observations
Delivering the order, district judge-6 MS Ganorkar observed that the lease expired in November 1967 and was never renewed thereafter. Despite the expiry, the Trust allegedly continued to occupy the property and sublet portions of it to commercial establishments, including automobile shops, a mutton shop, and a gas agency, without obtaining permission from the municipal corporation.
The appellants, representing various business establishments and a school functioning on the premises, argued before the court that they were lawful tenants under the Trust and therefore entitled to protection from eviction. However, the court rejected this contention, holding that once the original lease expired, the Trust itself ceased to have any legal right over the property.
Non-Payment of Rent
The court further noted that the Trust failed to pay even the nominal annual lease rent of Re1 to the civic body, strengthening NMC's claim that the occupants were encroachers.
Public Interest
Observing that the centrally located land was urgently required for a public project, the court ruled that illegal occupants cannot question the government's need to reclaim its own land for public purposes. The judgment also upheld the due process followed by the deputy municipal commissioner (property), stating that adequate opportunity of hearing was provided to all parties before the eviction notices were issued.
Legal Representation
Advocates GA Kunte and DG Paunikar represented NMC, while advocates SP Behar, ML Senad, YB Sawal, and BR Waghmare appeared for the appellants.
With the dismissal of the appeals, NMC's path to repossess the high-value property for the proposed public development project has been cleared.
