Mumbai: The Bombay high court has supported the order of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation to demolish a 16-storey building, “Jhalak Paradise”, in Ulhasnagar, while dismissing a petition filed by the developer, and coming down heavily on both the builder and civic officials for alleged fraud and serious violations.A bench of Justices Kamal Khata and A S Gadkari observed that the petitioners had “clearly misled the Corporation and obtained permissions fraudulently.” The court further noted that officials of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation had failed in their duty to verify documents before granting approvals.Highlighting contradictions in the developer’s stand, the bench pointed out that while the petitioners relied on a 2021 report claiming the plot was unaffected by 24m and 36m Development Plan (DP) roads, they also admitted to surrendering 386.68 sq m of land due to DP road impact. The court said this clearly showed that the developer was aware of the encroachments but still proceeded to obtain permissions by submitting misleading documents with the help of an architect.Terming the approvals as having been obtained through misrepresentation, the court declared them “null and void,” rendering the entire structure illegal. It refused to grant any relief, stating that parties approaching the court with “unclean hands” are not entitled to sympathy or leniency. The bench also emphasised that municipal authorities are custodians of planned urban development and must act firmly against illegal constructions, calling for strict action against erring officials who have “polluted the system.“The court also rejected the developer’s plea for a four-week stay to approach the Supreme Court and directed the civic body to proceed with demolition in accordance with the law. The building had been declared illegal in 2024 by then municipal commissioner Aziz Shaikh after activist Swapnil Patil and Shailesh Tiwari brought the issue before the UMC, which ordered partial demolition after it was found that nearly 80% of the structure encroached upon DP roads. The 16-storey building, constructed in Ulhasnagar-5 by Jhalak Construction Company, comprises 65 flats and four shops and was built over a 36-metre ring road and a 24-metre DP road, leaving only a 3-metre margin against the required 9.7 metres.
