SUBHASH V.CHAWDA Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the outset, we must state we heard the above Writ Petitions on 21/7/2023 and reserved it for judgment. Thereafter, on 7/8/2023 the matter was moved before us by the Petitioners in Writ Petition No.4721 of 2022 [Maharashtra Telephone Nigam Ltd] requesting that judgment may not be pronounced for a period of four weeks as MTNL has received some proposal from the Developers [the Petitioners in Writ Petition (L) No.5467 of 2022] and which is under consideration by MTNL. Considering this request, on 7/8/2023, we recorded that we shall not pronounce our judgment till 4/9/2023. Thereafter, on 4/9/2023, we were informed that the proposal given by the Developers is rejected by MTNL. We accordingly recorded in our order dtd. 4/9/2023 that we shall now proceed to pronounce the judgment in due course. This is how we have pronounced the judgment today.

(2.) The subject matter of the present Petitions is the acquisition of 531.9 Sq. Mtrs of CTS No.1800 of village Ville Parle, Tal. Andheri, Mumbai Suburban District (hereinafter referred to as the 'said land'). The total area of CTS No.1800 is 607.40. Sq. Mtrs.

(3.) Writ Petition No.4721 of 2022 is filed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (for short 'MTNL') inter alia challenging the Notification dtd. 10/6/2004, and which was published in the Government Gazette dtd. 30/6/2004, declaring the said land [which forms the subject matter of the Petition] as a 'slum area' under Sec. 4(1) of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 (for short 'the Slum Act'). Consequently, MTNL also challenges the Notification dtd. 25/4/2006 for acquisition of the said land under Sec. 14 (1) of the Slum Act.