Mumbai: Clearing the way for redevelopment of the iconic Lincoln House on Bhulabhai Desai Road, Breach Candy, in south Mumbai, the Bombay High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging approvals granted for the project, holding that the plea lacked bona fides and was driven by private motives.

The petition was filed by the Altamount Road Area Citizens Committee, which alleged that permissions, concessions, and sanctions granted by the BMC to developer M/s Krishna and Company were “arbitrary, illegal and in contravention” of applicable rules. The plea sought cancellation of sanctioned plans and other approvals for the redevelopment.

The petitioners claimed that the authorities had set a “wrong and dangerous precedent” by granting illegal concessions and raised concerns about fire safety, open spaces, and infrastructure stress in the area.

Senior counsel Darius Shroff argued that relaxations granted under Development Control Regulations compromised safety and violated residents’ right to life under Article 21.

However, the State and the developer opposed the plea, contending that all approvals were granted in accordance with applicable Development Control Regulations and subsequent Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR 2034).

Senior counsel Milind Sathe, appearing for the State, submitted that the building plans were sanctioned as per prevailing norms and that the project, being a redevelopment of a cessed structure, was entitled to certain concessions.

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam accepted the respondents’ submissions, noting that the original approvals dated back to 2002 and had been amended from time to time in compliance with regulations. It held that there was “no illegality” in the sanctions granted and that minor discrepancies, if any, could not justify judicial interference.

The petitioner had argued that there was not enough space on all four sides of the building for the passage of the fire tender and it would pose a high risk of loss of life and property if a fire breaks out in the building.

Rejecting concerns over safety, the court observed: “we do not find any basis for such apprehensions. The subject building has inbuilt in-house fire fighting systems which are catered with dual power supply and dedicated water-tank for fire extinguishing purposes.”

Importantly, the bench came down heavily on the maintainability of the PIL. It said, “A petition filed in the garb of public interest litigation cannot be entertained where no material facts constituting a cause in the larger public interest has been disclosed.”

The court further remarked, “The public interest litigation jurisdiction cannot be invoked by a person to further his personal cause or satisfy his personal grudge and enmity.”

Noting delays and lack of prosecution in interim applications, the court held that the process had been “abused”. It also observed that such petitions “obstruct functioning of the government machinery and result in wastage of Court’s invaluable time”.

Dismissing the PIL, the HC vacated the interim order granted in 2018.

Lincoln House in Breach Candy, south Mumbai, is a renowned Grade III heritage sea-facing bungalow purchased by billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla for Rs 750 crore in 2015. Originally known as Wankaner House, it was built in 1933 and formerly served as the U.S. Consulate for nearly six decades.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, April 10: A 26-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband at a petrol pump in the Karmad area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Thursday afternoon, police said. The incident unfolded in front of staff members and several customers, leaving those present in shock.

In a fit of rage, the husband allegedly took out a knife and slit the victim’s throat. The accused, identified as Satyam Gavande, was arrested shortly after the crime.

The deceased, Pooja Gavande, worked at a fuel station near the Ganapati temple in Karmad. According to police, Satyam arrived at the petrol pump on a two wheeler and confronted her while she was attending to her duties.

What began as an argument quickly escalated into violence.

Police officials said the couple had been facing ongoing marital discord and were living separately. Pooja had married Satyam around six months ago after the death of her first husband.

Superintendent of Police Vinaykumar Rathod said the accused had been pressuring her for a divorce as he wanted to remarry. However, she had refused, reportedly keeping in mind the future of her two young children from her first marriage.

During the confrontation, the accused allegedly pulled out a knife, pushed Pooja to the ground and attacked her repeatedly before anyone could intervene. She died on the spot.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the petrol pump and is now a key part of the investigation.

Sources said the petrol pump owner attempted to stop the attack but was threatened with the weapon. The accused then tried to flee, causing panic among those present.

Police teams reached the spot soon after being alerted, sent the body for postmortem and registered a case of murder. The accused was traced to Kachner village and arrested within a short span.

Mumbai: The special POCSO court has refused to grant bail to a Ghatkopar resident, a 38-year-old cricket coach arrested on the complaint of his 13-year-old student for repeated penetrative sexual assault and harassment, observing that he may repeat the crime with other girls and may also abscond.

The case was lodged with Deonar police station, wherein a 13-year-old girl alleged that when she was attending cricket coaching, the accused was working as a cricket coach.

She claimed that the accused touched her inappropriately and repeatedly sexually assaulted her, because of which she often had severe stomach pain.

The coach, on the other hand, pleaded that he is innocent and has not committed any alleged crime. He claimed that the case filed against him is false. He stated that he had lodged a case against two persons and, as a counter to that, the present case was lodged.

The plea, however, was opposed by the prosecution, wherein it was pointed out that the coach was also booked in another case registered by a 16-year-old girl for molestation.

It was claimed that there was a CCTV camera at the spot, which was destroyed by the accused with the intention to tamper with the prosecution evidence.

The victim girl too had objected to the bail plea, claiming that she was doing the practice of cricket and also attending tuition; if the accused is released on bail, again there are chances of repetition of crime.

The court, after hearing arguments, noted that, “age of the victim girl is only 13 years. There is an allegation of penetrative assault. Medical evidence is also on record. Nature of the offence is serious, further it is also alleged that there was a CCTV camera at the incident spot, which was destroyed by the accused to disappear the prosecution evidence.”

“If, in this situation, the accused is released on bail, there are chances of repetition of crime with minor girls and also there are chances of absconding of accused,” the court said, rejecting the bail plea.