Bombay HC relief to eatery, hall at Mulund Sports Complex after BMC revokes nod
Mumbai: Bombay HC on Tuesday stayed BMC’s decision to withdraw permissions granted during the previous civic body’s regime for a restaurant and a marriage hall at Mulund Sports Complex .
Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad heard a petition filed by Dhanraj Hospitality and Services last week seeking directions to quash BMC’s decision—taken after BJP functionary Kirit Somaiya alleged irregularities—and an interim stay until the petition is decided.
Appearing through senior counsel Birendra Saraf and advocate Joel Carlos, the company said in 2021, a BMC-created trust, Brihanmumbai Krida and Lalit Kala Pratishthan , chaired by the mayor and which holds the lease to the property, issued sought bids to develop parts of the sports complex. The company won the tender.
It said BMC approved the works in 2023 and it began operating a restaurant and a marriage hall at the sports complex. But, BMC issued a show-cause notice in May and passed an order cancelling their licences this month.
Somaiya, the petition said, filed a complaint on May 14, after which civic officials recorded that the trust had not submitted any application seeking a completion certificate for alteration work. The company’s counsel said BMC’s inspection reports show that all work was done as per the sanctioned plan and the trust was responsible for applying for the certificate.
The petition said BMC formed the trust in 1988 to encourage sports and cultural activities, and the sports complex was leased to it in 1990 for 30 years, with a further extension of 15 years. Saraf said its trustees include the mayor and civic officers. He said development applications must be made by the trust through BMC engineers. The petitioners, as licensee for certain areas, invested over Rs 16 crore to execute work in line with plans approved through the trust, he said. After upgrading the premises, the effort now is to remove them for reasons unrelated to any lapse on their part, he added.
The petition said BMC issued a common notice to the restaurant and the marriage hall while pointing to breaches in other parts of the complex.
Advocate Smita Tondwalkar, for BMC, said the completion certificate was not submitted and, therefore, the show-cause notice was served and the revocation order passed.
The bench orally observed: “Members of the trust are the mayor and the additional municipal commissioner. Then, would you issue notice to them?”
BMC is to file its response on the next date.
BMC had undertaken separate action by demolishing alleged illegal temporary structures and turf installations elsewhere on the premises on May 16, a day after a site inspection by mayor Ritu Tawde and Somaiya. The two had alleged that sports complexes managed by the trust had effectively been “mortgaged” to private contractors through long-term agreements. The demolitions have been challenged separately in court for being undertaken without notice.
Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad heard a petition filed by Dhanraj Hospitality and Services last week seeking directions to quash BMC’s decision—taken after BJP functionary Kirit Somaiya alleged irregularities—and an interim stay until the petition is decided.
Appearing through senior counsel Birendra Saraf and advocate Joel Carlos, the company said in 2021, a BMC-created trust, Brihanmumbai Krida and Lalit Kala Pratishthan , chaired by the mayor and which holds the lease to the property, issued sought bids to develop parts of the sports complex. The company won the tender.
It said BMC approved the works in 2023 and it began operating a restaurant and a marriage hall at the sports complex. But, BMC issued a show-cause notice in May and passed an order cancelling their licences this month.
Somaiya, the petition said, filed a complaint on May 14, after which civic officials recorded that the trust had not submitted any application seeking a completion certificate for alteration work. The company’s counsel said BMC’s inspection reports show that all work was done as per the sanctioned plan and the trust was responsible for applying for the certificate.
The petition said BMC formed the trust in 1988 to encourage sports and cultural activities, and the sports complex was leased to it in 1990 for 30 years, with a further extension of 15 years. Saraf said its trustees include the mayor and civic officers. He said development applications must be made by the trust through BMC engineers. The petitioners, as licensee for certain areas, invested over Rs 16 crore to execute work in line with plans approved through the trust, he said. After upgrading the premises, the effort now is to remove them for reasons unrelated to any lapse on their part, he added.
The petition said BMC issued a common notice to the restaurant and the marriage hall while pointing to breaches in other parts of the complex.
Advocate Smita Tondwalkar, for BMC, said the completion certificate was not submitted and, therefore, the show-cause notice was served and the revocation order passed.
The bench orally observed: “Members of the trust are the mayor and the additional municipal commissioner. Then, would you issue notice to them?”
BMC is to file its response on the next date.
BMC had undertaken separate action by demolishing alleged illegal temporary structures and turf installations elsewhere on the premises on May 16, a day after a site inspection by mayor Ritu Tawde and Somaiya. The two had alleged that sports complexes managed by the trust had effectively been “mortgaged” to private contractors through long-term agreements. The demolitions have been challenged separately in court for being undertaken without notice.
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