In a strongly worded judgment, the Bombay High Court has upheld the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation’s (UMC) decision to revoke development permission and ordered the demolition of a 14-storey building constructed by Jhalak Constructions in Ulhasnagar.
A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata dismissed the writ petition filed by Jhalak Constructions and its partners Naresh Harumal Wadhwani and Sagar Mukesh Wadhwani. The court ruled that the builders obtained development permission by misleading the municipal authorities and submitting incorrect documents regarding the plot’s alignment with proposed Development Plan (DP) roads.
The subject property (Barrack No. 2112, CTS Nos. 27918 to 27922 etc., Ulhasnagar-5) measuring approximately 1004.5 sq.m. was found to be substantially affected by the 24-metre and 36-metre wide DP roads. The court noted that despite this, the builders managed to secure initial permission for 7 floors in December 2020 and revised permission for 16 floors in November 2021. They had already constructed up to 14 floors and registered the project “Jhalak Paradise” with MahaRERA.
The bench observed that the builders, with the help of their architect, had “played fraud” on the Corporation. They had even executed two Release Deeds surrendering 386.68 sq.m. of land, while simultaneously claiming in some documents that the plot was unaffected by the DP roads — an act the court described as “approbating and reprobating.”
Rejecting the builders’ plea that substantial construction had been completed and heavy investment made, the court cited recent Supreme Court judgments, including Rajendra Kumar Barjatya (2024) and Kaniz Ahmed (2025), and held that investment, partial completion, or delay by authorities cannot be grounds to regularise illegal constructions.
“Fraud vitiates all orders. A party attempting to play a fraud on the authorities cannot be permitted to take advantage of his own wrong,” the court observed.
The High Court refused to grant any stay on the demolition, rejecting the builders’ request for even a four-week stay to approach the Supreme Court. The matter has been posted for compliance on 17th June 2026.
UMC had earlier removed the then Town Planner from his post after an inquiry revealed serious lapses in granting the permission.
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