No OC, no stay: Bombay HC tells Tardeo high-rise residents to vacate top 18 floors
The court has directed that the flats in Willingdon Heights—also known as Thakkar Tower—be vacated within two weeks.
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In a scathing ruling, the Bombay High Court has ordered the eviction of residents occupying the top 18 floors of a 34-storey residential tower in Mumbai’s Tardeo area, citing absence of an occupation certificate (OC) and branding them a “selfish lot” unconcerned about public safety.
The court has directed that the flats in Willingdon Heights—also known as Thakkar Tower—be vacated within two weeks. The tower, located at Tulsiwadi, only holds partial OC for floors 1 to 16, while floors 17 to 34 have been declared unauthorized. The court observed that the structure was occupied in blatant violation of building norms and fire safety laws.
A division bench comprising Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor came down heavily on the residents, stating, “Affluent flat buyers who have taken the law into their own hands... are a selfish lot who not only with open eyes are acting contrary to the building regulations but also have the means to defeat legal action.”
The bench described the illegal occupation as “brazen illegality” and emphasized that such disregard for statutory norms “needs to be deprecated.” It made clear that the residents of the upper 18 floors would only be permitted to return to their flats once a valid OC is issued.
The case arose from a petition filed by Sunil Jhaveri, a resident of the building, alleging serious and long-standing construction violations. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has reportedly flagged several issues, including the lack of a fire No-Objection Certificate (NOC), illegal amalgamation of floors 26 and 27, and unauthorised construction from the 17th to 34th floor.
According to senior advocate Sharan Jagtiani, appearing for Jhaveri, the BMC had issued multiple notices since 2011. These included a 2020 directive asking occupants of the illegal floors to vacate within seven days. Jagtiani submitted that while efforts were underway to regularise violations on the lower floors, there was no legal basis for continued occupation of the upper floors.
The BMC, represented by senior advocate S.U. Kamdar, told the court that the structure must be restored to align with original sanctioned plans. Kamdar stressed the grave risk of permitting occupation without a fire NOC, calling it “extremely dangerous.”
Senior advocate Dinyar Madon, representing the housing society, pleaded for additional time on humanitarian grounds so residents could seek regularisation and secure an OC. However, the bench firmly rejected this appeal. “Accepting such a proposition would render the entire statutory regime... wholly nugatory,” the judges ruled, warning that it would amount to legalising lawlessness.
The High Court also vacated its earlier March 27 interim protection, refused to stay the BMC’s eviction order, and directed the civic body to proceed with enforcement action if the flats were not vacated within the stipulated period.
Meanwhile, the court will hear the plea related to regularisation efforts by residents of floors 1 to 16 on July 29. It has asked BMC to refrain from initiating demolition on those levels until then.
