Mumbai: The Bombay High Court, on Monday, directed that no workers or other persons be permitted to enter the premises of the under-construction Jadhavji Mansion in south Mumbai from midnight of February 16 until February 18.
The Court passed this interim order while hearing a petition by the Commanding Officer (CO) of INS Shikra, a highly sensitive naval air station and VVIP heliport in south Mumbai, alleging ‘illegal’ and ‘unauthorised’ construction of the high-rise, located within 246 metres of the defence facility.
After being informed by the local military authority that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to land at INS Shikra on Tuesday, the Court barred entry to the construction site till February 18 when it will pass further orders, as reported by The Indian Express.
The division bench of Justicesl Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Abhay J Mantri passed the interim order after the developer’s counsel made a statement assuring that all construction-related activity would be halted. The court recorded that ‘not a single worker deployed on any activity of whatsoever nature’ would be allowed to enter the building during this period.
The CO moved the petition through senior advocate R V Govilkar, contending that the planning authority had granted and continued permissions to the high-rise without obtaining the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Navy. According to him, multiple amendments made to the building plans after 2011 unlawfully increased the height and number of floors, creating a direct line of sight into operational and heliport areas of the naval base.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also been accused in the petition of failing to exercise its statutory powers under Section 354-A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, which empowers authorities to stop unlawful construction. Despite repeated written objections raising grave national security and public safety concerns, the civic body allegedly took no effective action, amounting to what the petitioner described as statutory dereliction.
Govilkar, in his submission, said the non-application of mind to factors such as proximity, line of sight and the operational sensitivity of INS Shikra vitiated all permissions granted to the project. The plea stated that the construction posed a continuing threat to naval operations and VVIP safety, including movements involving Prime Minister Modi.
The petitioner has called the structure a direct threat to national security and the Constitutional right to safety under Article 21. He has sought demolition of the entire building as the only effective and proportionate remedy, stating that no third-party rights could arise from an illegal construction.
