The Bombay High Court has ordered a man and his family living in Mumbai to vacate the flats they have occupied for 77 years. The court asked him to vacate the flats he was occupying since 1944 in upmarket South Mumbai and hand them over to the original owner (Alice D’Souza). The original owner is a 93-year-old woman, Alice D’Souza, who will finally be able to get flats located near Metro Theater in Dhobitlav area. A bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and MM Sathaye was hearing three petitions filed by the owner and the occupiers against each other.
matter before independence
The matter is before the independence of the country. In a letter dated 13 July 1944, the then deputy city engineer of the Bombay Municipality informed the then owner of the complex (HS Dias, father of the present owner Elias D’Souza) that the two flats had been put to municipal use. Later, on 17 July 1946, the Governor of Bombay ordered that the owner of the property, under the Defense of India Rules, hand over the property to D.S. Give it to a government employee named Lod. However, on July 24, 1946, the collector excluded these properties from the purview of ‘requisition’. In an order dated 27 July 1946, the Collector of Bombay directed that the possession of the first floor of the building, where the premises are situated, should be released from demand and given to the owner.
Despite this order, the possession of the premises was not handed over to the owner. In letters dated 08 April 1952, 24 March 1952 and 02 May 1952, Lad’s lawyer refused to hand over the possession of the premises to the owner. It was said in a letter that the said premises is occupied by Lod since the year 1944.
protracted litigation
Finally, on 8 May 1987, the owner issued a notice to Lod requesting him to release the said premises from demand. Writ petitions were filed by the owner between 1987 and 1991 but were withdrawn for one reason or the other. Later fresh litigation started in 2009 with a notice under Section 8C(2) of the Bombay Land Acquisition (BLR) Act, popularly known as the Maharashtra Land Acquisition Act. It was issued to Mangesh D. Lad (legal heir of DS Lad) and called for hearing regarding his possession of the premises.
Court ordered to vacate the flat
After a detailed hearing, the Controller of Accommodation (COA) directed Lad to vacate the premises within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order and hand over the vacant possession to the state government. The COA concluded that the documents relied upon by Laud do not establish tenancy. The CoA said that D.S. Laud was admitted to the premises with specific intent as he was a Government servant. The court said that after the retirement or death of the government servant (allottee), the government servant or his legal heirs cannot be allowed to occupy the premises.
This order of COA was challenged by Lod and a petition was also filed on behalf of the owner. However, ruling in favor of D’Souza, the bench asked him to vacate the possession of the flats and directed him to vacate these houses and hand them over to D’Souza within eight weeks.
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