The Bombay High Court on January 13 reserved its order in a plea filed by actor Sonu Sood seeking protection from action by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) against the alleged illegal construction at his residence .
A single Bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan was hearing a plea filed by the actor seeking extension of stay on a notice granted by the City Civil Court and Sessions Court. Mr. Sood challenged the notice issued by the BMC on October 24, 2020 for alleged illegal conversion of residential premises to commercial premises.
Advocate Amogh Singh, appearing for Mr. Sood, argued that the schedule of the notice sent by the BMC did not specify which portion was the alleged unauthorised construction. He said the exterior structure had not been changed since 1992 and the BMC could not take any action without passing the order. He added that the trial court could not hold that a speaking order was not necessary.
However, senior advocate Anil Sakhare, representing the BMC, said that after the notice was issued under Section 354A (power of designated officer to stop erection of building or work commenced or carried on unlawfully) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the demolition work was also carried out.
He said Mr. Sood had carried out “alterations under the garb of beautification”. “He has built 24 rooms and is running a residential hotel in a residential building and that all the alterations and additions are carried out are against the sanctioned plan,” Mr. Sakhare said.
The civic body in its reply to the plea by the actor said, “The plaint before the City Civil Court and the reliefs sought therein constitute a malafide attempt and an abuse of process in as much as the Appellant [Mr. Sood] seeks to protect a ex-facie illegal commercial hotel which has been constructed and modified by the Appellant contrary to the sanctioned building plan, in violation of the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act and the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and which is operating in absence of any license.”
