M/S Aarsuday Projects & Infrastructure (P) Ltd. v. Jogen Chowdhury & Ors.
Background
A residential building near Santiniketan, permitted and completed years earlier, was ordered demolished by the High Court after a PIL alleged it stood on ecologically sensitive "khoai" land near land associated with Rabindranath Tagore.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court found official reports never actually established the specific plot was "khoai" land, the surrounding area already had extensive similar construction (including homes belonging to some petitioners themselves), and set aside the demolition order, imposing costs on the petitioners for lack of candour about their own undisclosed stakes.
Lesson Learnt
Courts won't order demolition of a lawfully-permitted structure based on generalized, unsubstantiated claims, and litigants who conceal their own stake when invoking public interest jurisdiction risk having their case dismissed with costs.