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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice GS Patel and Justice Kamal Khata in its order dated 22nd August has granted relief to a bunch of petitioners including a 86-year-old man and his bedridden wife while directing the MCGM to restore the water and electricity supply at their house in Bandra.

The high court was hearing a plea filed by the 86-year-old who was living in a rented premises with a bad structural condition.

The MCGM had on 17th August 2023 disconnected the electricity and water supply of the entire building after the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) had declared the building under C2A category (Dangerous parts of the building that needs to be vacated).

Nevertheless, despite the urgency conveyed by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) regarding necessary repairs, the landlord failed to take any action to address the structural issues during two consecutive monsoon seasons since 2021.

Furthermore, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) also did not take proactive measures to ensure the timely execution of the required repairs.

The MCGM and the landlord informed the court that the building is now in a ruinous and uninhabitable condition, not safe for human habitation and is, therefore, in the C1 category (Dangerous building that needs to be vacated).

The bench in its order recorded that the landlord-tenant relationship does not end because the premises are vacated for redevelopment.

“The landlord-tenant relationship does not end because premises are evacuated for the purposes of redevelopment, or because a building is too dangerous for continued human occupation. That branch of the law has been firmly settled,” the bench recorded.

Both the MCGM and the landlord apprised the court that the building has now deteriorated to a state of ruin and is deemed uninhabitable due to safety concerns, warranting its classification under the C1 category (Dangerous building that needs to be vacated).

The order further stated “That does not even begin to address our concerns. We simply fail to see how private property owners can literally throw their tenants out on the street by letting their buildings deteriorate and degrade like this. That is not the frame of the law,” the order reads.

Subsequently, the bench directed the developer to present an initial redevelopment proposal encompassing the entire property by August 24.

Upon convening on the specified date, the court was apprised of the reinstatement of water and electricity services. Following this, the developer requested additional time to formulate the redevelopment plan, which the court granted.

In its order dated August 24, the court acknowledged that the tenants occupying the rented premises would persist in their residence at their personal risk.

“It goes without saying that given condition of the building, those who chose to remain there do so at their own risk and neither the owners nor the MCGM will be responsible for any loss of life or property,” the bench noted.

The case will now be taken up on 6th September.

Case title: Savio Dsouza & Ors vs MCGM & Anr