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Aishwarya Atul Pusalkar v. Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 369Decided 27 Apr 2020
Civil Appeal No. 7231 of 2012
Justice Deepak Gupta · Justice Aniruddha Bose

Background

The appellant, representing herself, had lived with her husband's family in a Mumbai building that was later demolished and redeveloped under a Maharashtra housing law. She was required to vacate for the redevelopment and, after her husband's family re-occupied flats in the new building, was not allowed back in, even though her earlier divorce proceedings had failed and she remained legally married. She filed a writ petition asking the Bombay High Court to order the housing authority to rehouse her in two specific flats, but the High Court dismissed the petition, holding that a writ court was not the right forum for what was really a private family dispute over residence.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court agreed that a right to reside in one's matrimonial home is a personal right under family law, not a right created by the housing redevelopment statute, so a writ petition against the housing authority was not the correct legal route: such disputes belong in a civil or family court. However, since the matter had dragged on for years and the husband and the builder had both confirmed one particular flat (No. 101) was available, the Court used its special power under Article 142 of the Constitution to fashion a practical, one-time solution: the husband and builder were directed to confirm the flat was free and unencumbered, the appellant was given the choice to accept it, and timelines were set for disclosure, her decision, and handover, while preserving her right to pursue a full matrimonial-home claim in a proper family court if she chose not to accept the flat.

Lesson Learnt

A right to reside in one's matrimonial home must usually be enforced in a civil or family court, not through a writ petition against a government housing authority; however, the Supreme Court can still step in with practical, one-off directions under Article 142 to end a long-pending dispute when the facts allow a workable solution.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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