Bombay HC Refuses Relief To Pune School Over Illegal Building, Says ‘Illegality Is Incurable’
Bomb Threat at Mumbai High Court: Building Evacuate
Mumbai, May 14, 2025: The Bombay High Court has refused to grant relief to Aryan World School in Pune, which had challenged a demolition order issued by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) for unauthorised construction on its premises.
According to a report published in Hindustan Times, a division bench comprising Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata, in its May 9 order, stated that the court could not instruct authorities to regularise an illegal structure simply because it serves around 2,000 students. The bench emphasised that “illegality is inherently incurable” and that the law must apply equally to all.
The court took strong exception to the common practice in Maharashtra of constructing buildings illegally with the expectation that they can later be regularised. “Such misplaced sympathy undermines the sanctity of the law and town planning,” the bench noted.
The school, located in Bhilarewadi, had moved the court against the PMRDA’s April 17 order, arguing that it had not been granted a hearing before the demolition notice was issued. The school’s lawyer, Neeta Karnik, argued that the construction was carried out based on a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the gram panchayat in October 2007, which was then considered the competent authority.
However, the court held that the gram panchayat had no legal authority to issue such permissions, stating that in the absence of a planning authority, such approval should have come from the district collector. It declared the construction “wholly illegal” as no valid permission had been obtained.
The High Court also directed the Maharashtra government to initiate action against the gram panchayat and its sarpanch for issuing the unauthorised NOC and sought a compliance affidavit by November 14 detailing actions taken.
The bench further criticised the rising trend of individuals seeking regularisation of illegal constructions under the pretext of illiteracy or public interest, stating that these attempts aim to misuse the legal process and elicit unwarranted sympathy.
The demolition order against the school remains in effect, with no relief granted by the court.
