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Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors. v. Rafiqunnisa M. Khalifa (Deceased) Through Her Legal Heir Mr. Mohd. Muqueen Qureshi & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 221Decided 18 Feb 2019
Civil Appeal Nos. 1727-1732 of 2019
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

Six individuals were running small stalls (a restaurant, a pan shop, kabab shops, etc.) near Bandra Station Road without permission under Section 312(1) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act. The Municipal Commissioner removed these stalls/structures under Section 314 of the Act, which allows removal of unauthorised structures on streets without notice in certain circumstances. The stall owners challenged the removal before the Bombay High Court, which ruled in their favour, quashed the Commissioner's action, and directed the Municipal Corporation to provide them alternate land. The Corporation appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Commissioner's action under Section 314 was lawful because the stalls had never been erected with the permission required under Section 312(1); merely holding a health license to sell food did not legitimise an unauthorised structure or shield it from removal. The Court found no illegality, arbitrariness, or unreasonableness in the Commissioner's action and held the High Court was wrong to strike it down. It further held that a writ of mandamus directing the Corporation to allot alternate land was unjustified, since the stall owners had no legal or contractual right to such land and no scheme obligated the Corporation to provide it. The appeals were allowed, the High Court's order was set aside, and the underlying writ petitions were dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Running a business on public land/streets without the municipal authority's formal permission to erect the structure leaves it liable to removal regardless of other licenses (like a health/trade license) held for that business, and courts will not direct the government to provide alternate premises absent an actual legal right or policy entitlement to one.

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

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