APOORVA ULHAS HADKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above Writ Petitions are filed by the Petitioners who are some of the eligible tenants/occupants of Shree Swami Samarth Krupa Building No.1, Gokhale Road, Dadar (W), Mumbai - 400 028 standing on plot bearing C.S.No.1646 and 1/1646 of Mahim Division admeasuring 1131.48 sq. yards equivalent to 946.03 sq.mtrs. ( the said property). The said building has 100 tenants/occupants. The landlord of the said building is one Shri Vilas Chandrakant Gaonkar - Respondent No.3, who had agreed to carry out redevelopment of the said property.

(2.) The landlord developer (Respondent No.3) took possession of the tenanted premises from the 100 tenants sometime in the year 2008 and agreed to pay to them transit rent in lieu of temporary alternate accommodation. The landlord developer not only failed to redevelop the property as promised, but also failed to pay the agreed compensation in lieu of temporary alternate accommodation to the tenants, thereby bringing the 100 tenants, almost on the streets. 2. One of the tenants had earlier filed a Writ Petition No.1658 of 2012 and had also taken out a Notice of Motion No.180 of 2016 therein, interalia seeking directions against Respondent No.3 to pay to the Petitioner therein the arrears of rent and for the future rent/compensation payable every month by the Respondent No.3 in lieu of temporary alternate accommodation until the permanent alternate accommodation is handed over to the Petitioner; to direct Respondent No.2 not to grant any further permission to Respondent No.3 till he pays Petitioner the arrears of rent; and to direct Respondent No.2 to cancel the NOC issued to Respondent No.3 until the transit rent is paid to the Petitioner and possession of alternate accommodation is handed over to the Petitioner.

(3.) The Division Bench of this Court (Coram : S.C.Dharmadhikari, as he then was and B.P.Colabawalla, JJ.) after recording the breaches committed by the landlord developer and the plight of the tenants passed an order dated 21 st October, 2016, paragraph 9 of which reads as under :