The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed an application made by the scam-tainted Adarsh housing society opposing the title suit filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claiming ownership of the land at Colaba in South Mumbai where a 31-storey building stands.
After hearing both sides, Justice Roshan Dalvi rejected Adarsh society’s application.
In a title suit filed in December 2012, the MoD had stated that the land — on which the controversial Adarsh building — belonged to it and that it be handed over the possession of the land.
Alleging that the Adarsh building had been constructed “illegally and unlawfully”, the MoD had stated that it was the “sole owner” of the land and that the land had been transferred to Adarsh Society by “fraud, collusion and connivance on the part of the society members, Ministers and bureaucrats of the State Government”.
On its part, the Adarsh Housing Society later filed an application opposing the title suit on the ground that only the Defence Estate Officer (DEO) could file title suits on behalf of the MoD.
Besides relying on an order passed by the General Governor Council and the Government of India in 1930, the Adarsh society also cited the military land manual. “Which states that only the Defence estate officer is authorised to file and conduct a title suit in court on behalf of the MoD.”
The MoD refuted contested the society’s argument and argued that the Ministry was empowered to file and conduct title suits.
However, while hearing the arguments of both sides, the judge found that there was no merit in the Adarsh society’s contention and hence, he rejected its application opposing the MoD’s title suit.