93 flats of Adarsh society still locked: Centre tells SC

The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that 93 flats in the controversial 28-storey Adarsh Cooperative Society in Mumbai were still locked and it did not know what was inside those flats. A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and A M Sapre asked Adarsh Society to write letters to the owners of these flats and open the locks.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Centre, said out of the 104 flats, 93 were locked and they have got only 11 open flats which were taken into possession as per the apex court’s order. “We don’t know what is inside these 93 flats and if tomorrow anyone comes and says that their belongings were there and it was damaged, then we should not be held accountable,” Kumar said.

Counsel said by October 3, some furniture lying in the premises will be vacated and some construction material lying will be removed. He said the building was vacated and no one has been staying there and the 93 flats belonged to those who have got the allotment papers. The counsel further said they will write to these flat owners to open the locks, so that it can be handed over to the Centre as per the court’s direction. The bench posted the matter for further hearing along with the petition challenging the Bombay HC order directing demolition of the building.

On September 9, SC has asked the Centre to respond to the plea of the Adarsh Cooperative Society on maintenance of the scam-tainted building. The housing society has sought a direction to the Military Engineering Services, the custodian of the building, to ensure proper maintenance of facilities like lifts, generators and fire fighting equipments of the building as the office bearers of the society and flat owners have been barred from entering the premises by the apex court.