'Kudos to high court': SC refuses to intervene in demolition of illegal buildings in Thane

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with an order for demolishing 17 structures illegally built in green zones in Thane, outlining Bombay High Court's "courageous" stand.

A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manohan referred to the Bombay High Court's clear finding on the underworld being involved in the illegal constructions, happening in collusion with municipal bodies.

"Next, your Bombay will get encroached. That's all that remains to be done. Please feel for your city, otherwise everything will get encroached. For once, the Bombay High Court has taken a very courageous stand and we appreciate it," Justice Manmohan said.

Lauding the high court further, the bench said, "Kudos to the high court for taking a right decision. See, you encroached on some third party's land and built a property without taking any sanctions. There is no rule of law and please see, these are persons with underworld connections."

Upon learning that the petitioner was a home buyer, the bench said putting a noble soul in front was a "good strategy" but the high court had recorded the fact that the underworld was behind all such "enormous construction in a posh area".

Justice Manmohan said, "It's shocking that some people have the guts to come to this court. For once, the high court has woken up and tried to establish the rule of law. How many buildings have you constructed without taking any sanctions? Please go, unless and until you take any action against these unscrupulous builders, this trend will continue -- people will continue to do gorilla fighting using your shoulders, it must stop."

The bench observed that the construction was undertaken without any permission from the planning authority and, that too, by grabbing the land belonging to a third party.

Justice Bhuyan said the illegal construction could not have been brought to light had an innocent woman not come forward claiming that her land was occupied and buildings had come on it.

The top court asked the petitioner Danish Zaheer Siddiqui, who has challenged the June 12 high court order, to move the high court in review.

Siddiqui claimed of the 17 buildings, eight had been demolished, rendering a minimum of 400 families homeless.

He claimed to be one of the purchasers of a flat in one of the 17 buildings and argued that the high court issued a "carte blanche" direction empowering the Thane Municipal Corporation to proceed with demolition without awaiting any further orders.

The top court, however, said, "We express no opinion. After hearing the matter for some time, the senior counsel seeks liberty to withdraw the application and with liberty to approach the high court."

On June 12, the high court said any unauthorised construction would be required to be demolished.