Bombay HC asks Borivali school to get OC for new premises before shifting

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the management of M.K. School in Borivali (west) to first obtain the occupation certificate (OC) of the fifth and sixth floor of the structure in Borivali (east) where it proposed to shift so as to allow repair and redevelopment of the existing dilapidated school building.

The school management informed the court that it would be redeveloping the existing structure in a time-bound manner and would not be commercially exploiting the plot as alleged by parents of the school’s students.

A division bench of justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Shinde was hearing writ petitions filed by parents of students of the CBSE board-affiliated MKVV school challenging the school management’s decision to shift the school to another premise in Borivali (east).

The parents alleged that the management had decided to shift at the behest of two BJP politicians who wanted to commercially exploit the plot on which the current school was located.

The parents also alleged that the premises where the school management proposed to shift i.e. G.H. Sheth school in Borivali (east) did not conform to norms and hence, the shift should not be permitted.

On Wednesday, the school management told the court that it was willing to give an undertaking that it would construct a school within the time frame set by the CBSE board to allay the parents’ fears and allegations.

After hearing the submissions of the school management, the court said that while the government had given permission to the school to shift premises, it should first get an OC for the floors where the classes were to be shifted.