The Bombay High Court has sharply criticized the Maharashtra government and civic bodies for failing to take decisive action against illegal constructions, calling out the “dichotomy” of granting protection to violators while neglecting enforcement of the law. The court made these observations while ordering the demolition of an unauthorized structure in Palghar district.
A division bench comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata passed the order on June 17 while hearing a plea filed by a petitioner seeking demolition of an illegal construction on private land. The petitioner had approached the High Court after the civic authorities failed to act, despite issuing a demolition notice.
The court did not mince words in condemning what it described as a pattern of systemic failure by local authorities. “We are constrained to take a judicial notice that the local authorities, competent authorities and municipal corporations, routinely refrain from taking consequential actions after issuing notices, such as demolition, and more importantly, prosecution of the law violators,” the bench noted.
Highlighting a larger malaise, the judges stated, “The dichotomy of the state in not taking action against illegal structures and granting security to violator builders and developers is evident and unacceptable. These inactions resulting in illegal acts by the guardians of law and order incite social unrest and shake the social fabric.”
The court pointed out that attempts to recover money from violators usually take decades, making enforcement practically toothless. “Recovery of money from those builders/developers is only a distant dream,” it observed.
The bench also expressed concern about the widespread trend of unauthorized constructions being followed by requests for regularization. “We have come across such cases routinely, wherein a person first constructs a structure without permission and then seeks to regularise the construction,” the court remarked, adding that such “blatant illegal construction cannot be regularised.”
Ordering the immediate demolition of the unauthorised structure, the court also directed the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation to initiate criminal prosecution against those responsible for the illegal construction. Furthermore, the municipal commissioner was ordered to take appropriate disciplinary action against civic officials who failed in their duty to act, so as to “instil in them due regard for the rule of law.”
