In a scathing 27-page judgment delivered today, Justice Milind N. Jadhav of the Bombay High Court dismissed eight appeals, imposed heavy costs, and refused to grant even a single day’s stay, clearing the decks for the immediate demolition of eight illegal shops/stalls right outside Platform No. 1 of Kandivali (West) railway station.
The single judge used unusually strong language, calling the stall owners “illegal hawkers and land grabbers” who abused the process of law for 26 long years and then tried to restart the same litigation by hiding the entire history from the court.
25-Year Litigation, Supreme Court Seal, Then Fresh Lies in 2024
- The same structures (originally 27 stalls run under the banner “Saibaba Mitra Mandal”) have been litigating since 1999.
- After multiple rounds in City Civil Court → Bombay High Court → remand → trial again → High Court → Supreme Court, the hawkers finally lost when the Supreme Court dismissed their SLP on 30 September 2024.
- Within weeks, eight of them (or new buyers of the same stalls) filed fresh suits in October 2024 pretending nothing had ever happened and suppressed the entire 25-year record.
- The High Court called this “suppressio veri and suggestio falsi” (suppression of truth and suggestion of falsehood) and “approaching the court with unclean hands”.
“Electricity Bill in Someone Else’s Name” – The Smoking Gun
The stall owners produced the usual “proofs”:
- 1976/1980/2000 census slips
- 1982 repair permission
- Electricity bills
- Photographs
Justice Jadhav bluntly held:
“These three documents… do not prove that the Appellants/Plaintiffs are the owners of the suit premises.”
The biggest embarrassment came when the court scrutinised the electricity bills:
- One appellant, Vasant Dhakatu Gopal, produced an electricity bill that was in the name of Sunita Sangeeta Chougule (another appellant in the same list).
- The court noted that even his Udyam (MSME) registration mentioned “Shree Sai Baba Mitra Mandal” as the premises name, proving it is the same condemned stall that changed hands.
- Other bills showed the address alternately as “Vasant Lalji Road” and “Bajaj Road”, demolishing the claim that “our stall is on a different road, so the old judgment does not apply”.
Costs of ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 Each + “Land Grabbers” Remark
- The two appellants who admitted they were part of the original litigation (Ashok & Milan Kasavkar) – ₹25,000 each.
- The remaining six who lied that they were never part of the 27-stall case – ₹50,000 each.
- Total ₹3.5 lakh to be deposited within two weeks with the High Court’s Kirtikar Law Library, failing which it will be recovered as land revenue.
The court observed:
“This menace has spread across Mumbai city outside all suburban railway stations like a disease… Time has come to send a strong message to such illegal hawkers and land grabbers that the rule of law prevails in this country.”
No Stay, Not Even for One Day
After pronouncing the judgment, the lawyers begged for a few weeks’ stay to approach the Supreme Court. The judge refused:
“The appellants have enjoyed interim protection for a humongous period of 26 years from 1999 to 2025… I am not inclined to stay the judgment even for a day.”
Key Takeaway in the Judge’s Own Words
“Electricity bill, census slip and repair permission do not confer title or ownership. A suit for bare injunction without proving title is not maintainable.”
With this judgment (2025:BHC-AS:51301), the BMC and Nemi Krishna Co-operative Housing Society can now demolish the eight stalls without any further legal hindrance.
Also Read: Fractional Ownership vs. Traditional Real Estate: A Comparative Analysis
