Shocked by the procedure of land grant to the Adarsh Housing Society, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday called it “a clear-cut manipulation by the Collectorate, the Revenue Ministry and the Urban Development Ministry,” pointing out that “everyone who cleared the file was gifted with a flat.”
A Division Bench of Justice B.H. Marlapalle and Justice U.D. Salvi was hearing a petition filed by the Adarsh Housing Society against the revocation of the Occupation Certificate and water and power supply to it.
The Bench pointed out that less than half the flats were issued to defence personnel in the society, which had come up exclusively for defence personnel. It asked the State government why no First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the erring officials.
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“You have taken drastic penal action against the Society immediately, but why was action not taken against the officials? Is there no desire? Why isn't a case filed till now?” Justice Marlapalle said.
“The State government will have to reply on many more issues,” he said.
Slamming the State government, the court asked what action would be taken on the matter. “Please don't tell us that a commission will be set up. We have seen commissions come and go. Nothing happens,” the Bench said.
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It asked the Adarsh lawyers whether all the defence personnel could be accommodated on the first 12 floors of the building. The first 12 floors rise till the allowed limit of 30 metres. They will respond to this query on December 23.
The Bench pointed out that the land was originally in the possession of the defence authority and records were tampered with in 2004 to change ownership. P.V. Deshmukh, the then Deputy Secretary of the Urban Development Department, ordered the change by which the words “the land currently in possession of the Defence Department,” were deleted.
“No Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry is going to help this,” Justice Marlapalle said.
It also asked how certain individuals from remote areas such as Sangli and Kolhapur came to know of the Adarsh Society and applied for a flat there. “Now we will have to read between the lines whether an underprivileged man from Sangli has the capacity to buy such a flat in a high rise in Mumbai,” he said.
The Bench also pointed out that “the star names like Jitendra Avhad, Srinivas Patil, Suresh Prabhu, Babasaheb Kuperkar [and others] did not figure in the original list of occupants.”
It said many norms had been flouted while setting up the society. “We have no objection to IAS officers being given land, but not in this way,” the judges said.
They also pointed out to the profiles of the members of the society. “Some of them are students, though it has not been shown,” Justice Marlapalle said.
Counsel for Adarsh said they were not given the stipulated 15 days period to answer the notices issued to them by the municipal body and the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Company.
When the Ministry of Environment and Forests pointed out that the letter of intent was interpreted as ‘No Objection Certificate' by the society, the judges were shocked and asked the State government why it had no desire to take action against such erring officials.