Bombay HC refuses to halt evictions in Nalasopara illegal buildings case

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in the eviction of hundreds of families residing in 41 illegal buildings in Nalasopara, allowing the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) to proceed with its demolition plans.
A division bench led by Justice Sonak and Justice Khata noted that the eviction deadline was set for 30 October, emphasising that the builders should have approached the high court earlier, given that the petition had been pending since 2022.
The structures in question, occupying survey numbers 22 to 30 in Agarwal Nagar, Nalasopara, had previously been slated for demolition by the Bombay High Court.
Arun Gupta, a builder involved in the land’s development, had petitioned the high court in June to oppose the demolition. He argued that over 5,000 individuals had long been in possession of the land, a fact he claimed was known to the VVMC Commissioner. The petition further stated that inhabitants were in the process of seeking regularisation for the unauthorised construction.
Gupta is the son of Sitaram Gupta, a former corporator of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi political party, who was arrested on charges of forgery and cheating in connection with the alleged grabbing of private and government land.
In his petition, Arun Gupta claimed ownership of 21 acres of land in Achole, known as Vijaylaxmi colony. He stated that he had received development rights from Ishwar Patel, Deleep Patel, Gajanan Patel, and Narayan Patel, who purported to be the land’s owners.
The petition alleged that the actual landowners were non-resident Indians and that Ajay Sharma had been misusing a power of attorney executed in his favour. Gupta asserted that he had been in “absolute possession” of the land since 1999 and had begun construction in 2008, with properties transferred to various occupants before 2010. He also claimed to have applied to the VVMC in 2011.