Raut, who was 29 years old when he moved out of his home at theHaji Kasam Chawl on September 15, 1976, moved the Bombay high court in the matter in the year 2019. At a previous hearing, the Mharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority or Mhada had asked him for a probate.
On Mhada’s asking for a probate from Raut, the high court said on Friday, “This is completely inconceivable. The reason we say this is because possession was admittedly taken from the petitioner’s father and his family in 1976… It is pointless now at the end of 2021 to ask the petitioner to obtain probate or other representation.”
The Bombay high court bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar said that all these demands by the authorities count for nothing in view of their February 16, 2021 offer to Raut of an allotment by insisting on further compliance.
Again, it is the judiciary which has come to the rescue of citizens waiting for redeveloped homes. In this case, it is not a private developer, but bureaucratic bungling and red tape which forced a family to languish in a transit camp for 45 years. While HC must be applauded for ordering possession of a new flat within 24 hours, the ordeal of living in a cramped transit tenement for over four decades can never be adequately compensated.
Advocate Pradeep Havnur, for the petitioner, said that his client can provide an indemnity, and the high court accepted Raut’s affidavit as an indemnity.
The HC judges also noted that a 1990 document by Raut’s father Vithal had given an indemnity to Mhada or the housing development authority, which clearly indicates that when possession was taken, Raut was a resident of this very premises along with his father in 1976. “It is irrational for the authorities to believe that parties must remain alive for four-and-a-half decades before they can get an allotment,” they added. “If you wait for 45 years, it is two generations gone by,” remarked Justice Patel.
Taking note of the February 16, 2021 allotment letter, the judges directed that Suryakant Raut “is to be allotted the resident unit admeasuring 300 sq ft in the redeveloped building formerly known as Haji Kasam Chawl.” They posted the matter for compliance on Monday.
During the hearing in the case, Havnur said all those who were below Raut on the master list were allotted permanent houses.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-hc-slams-authorities-over-demands-in-redevpt-case/articleshow/88348345.cms
