Bombay HC dismisses PIL against Ranjit Patil
Activist Pravin Wategaonkar had alleged that the minister misused his powers to protect an unauthorised eatery in BKC.
Mumbai: The Bombay high Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against Ranjit Patil, minister of state for urban development. The PIL had alleged that the minister had misused his powers to protect an unauthorised eatery in the city.
“The petition has made wild allegations....the minister has, in his affidavit, admitted that he had stayed the demolition of the eatery but later vacated it. At the most, we can say the minister without jurisdiction passed the stay order. But we cannot question his bonafide and (decide) if there was any criminal intent,” the court said.
The court further observed, “There is no specific allegation of any corruption, wrongful gain or loss to the state exchequer. The present petition has been filed only on the basis of vague allegations against the minister, and senior bureaucrat which are not to be encourage.”
A division bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and M.S. Karnik was hearing the PIL filed by an activist Pravin Wategaonkar who alleged that Mr Patil, the minister of state for urban development, had stayed the demolition of illegal portions of a food court in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) act does not have any provision for granting such a stay, the PIL claimed. Mr Wategaonkar had alleged that the state’s urban planning body Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had leased space in the Bandra Kurla Complex to a private firm for running a food court. The MMRDA later found that the company had carried out unauthorised constructions, and issued a demolition notice.
The company agreed to demolish the unauthorised structure, but in August 2016 it approached Mr Patil, requesting that the demolition order be stayed. Mr Patil granted a stay immediately, the PIL claimed.
The minister, in his affidavit, refuted the allegations. The director of the company Spice and Grains Overseas Ltd, which runs the ‘urban food plaza eatery’, misrepresented the facts to obtain a stay, and after realising this, Mr Patil revoked his order, the affidavit said.