Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966

The promoter, Nahalchand Laloochand Pvt. Ltd., developed a building and sold flats to members of Panchali Co‑operative Housing Society Ltd., asserting a right to sell 25 stilt parking spaces as separate units. The society contended that the promoter could not sell those spaces because they were not "flats" under the Ma…

The appellants, Live Oak Resort Ltd., obtained a 3‑star rating and applied to the Panchgani Hill Station Municipal Council for permission to add an extra floor to their hotel. The council referred the matter to the Director of Town Planning, who, under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and Bye‑law 28…

The appellants, landowners in five villages of Raipur district, challenged the Kamal Vihar Township Development Scheme (KVTDS) prepared by the Raipur Development Authority (RDA) under the Madhya Pradesh Nagar Thatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam, 1973. They alleged that the scheme was formulated without the required zonal plan…

The appellants, owners of several plots in Gondia, challenged the reservation of their land for a shopping complex and vegetable market under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The original Development Plan came into force on 24‑08‑1984, and a declaration under Section 126(4) was published on 03‑09‑1…

Balaji Associates, a partnership firm, owned land in Morshi that was reserved for a shopping centre and garden under the final development plan effective from 01‑09‑2005. After the ten‑year period elapsed, the firm served a first notice on 13‑07‑2015 and a second notice on 31‑08‑2015 under Section 127 of the Maharashtr…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai had taken the statutory "steps" required under Section 126 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act to commence acquisition of land reserved for a public purpose, after the appellants served a purchase notice under Section 12…

The Supreme Court examined the scope and ambit of Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, which deals with the lapse of land reservations if acquisition steps are not taken within six months. The Court noted earlier High Court decisions that had partially allowed writ petitions challenging …

The case involved several cooperative housing societies that had purchased flats in a development where the builders constructed additional floors and exceeded the permitted Floor Space Index (FSI) in violation of the sanctioned plan and municipal regulations. The societies sought a mandamus directing the Mumbai Munici…

The Supreme Court examined the allotment of three plots of government land by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) to entities linked to the same proprietor. The respondents had obtained the plots through private applications without any public tender, prompting CIDCO to cancel the allotments on grou…

The Indian Heritage Society filed a public‑interest writ in the Bombay High Court seeking to quash permissions granted to the Bombay Municipal Corporation for constructing a new public toilet block near the Gateway of India and to demolish an existing block. The High Court dismissed the petition, holding that the facil…

The appellants challenged a notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 issued for acquiring their agricultural land, and the subsequent cancellation of that notification by a Sub‑Divisional Officer (SDO) under Section 5A. The SDO’s order was set aside by the Additional Commissioner, who also issued …

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay reserved a parcel of land for a recreation ground under the final development plan of 1967 but failed to acquire it within ten years. The trustees of the land served a purchase notice on 1 July 1977, which the corporation received on 4 July 1977. Section 127 of the Maharashtr…

Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Ltd (SRUIL) obtained development permission and a commencement certificate for a residential tower and a public parking lot (PPL) under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and the 1991 Development Control Regulations (DCR). SRUIL constructed the PPL up to 15 floors and th…

The appellants owned land that had been reserved for a playground in a Development Plan published in 2002 under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. After the statutory ten‑year period elapsed, they served a notice under Section 127 seeking acquisition, but the authorities failed to act. The High Court…

The Supreme Court examined appeals filed by Shirdi Nagar Panchayat against landowners and plot holders who challenged a 2004 government notification converting a green zone into a residential zone, which required the municipal council to receive 10% of the land as open space and another 10% as amenity space free of cha…

The Supreme Court examined a dispute over the acquisition of a 9,054‑sq‑m land in a Slum Rehabilitation (SR) Area in Mumbai, owned by Indian Cork Mills Private Limited (ICM) but claimed by the Tarabai Nagar Co‑op. Housing Society. The Court considered whether the owner has a preferential right to redevelop the SR Area …

The appellant‑trust owned lands in Nashik that were acquired by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. An award under Section 11 was made on 12 January 1996, but the parties entered into consent terms on 20 October 1997, agreeing that the market value would be fixed as of 17 Dec…

Sampada Yogesh Waghdhare, elected Municipal Councillor and later President, was disqualified under Section 44(1)(e) of the Maharashtra Municipal Council Nagar Panchayat and Industrial Township Act, 1965 because her husband constructed illegal structures, including temporary ones. She challenged the disqualification, ar…

The appellants, small‑scale shopkeepers near the Shirdi Sai Baba shrine, had a 1979 compromise decree granting them rehabilitation on their occupied plots. Subsequent town‑planning, development‑plan and highway‑control‑line notifications rendered the decree practically impossible to execute, prompting the Nagar Panchay…

Mass Holdings Pvt Ltd erected a hoarding in the Mahalaxmi area and was served a notice by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to remove it, citing the Maharashtra Heritage Regulations, 1995. The appellant argued that the Mahalaxmi Precinct was merely a "location" in the schedule and not a heritage precinct, and…

The appellant, a developer, sought a No‑Objection Certificate (NOC) for a composite slum‑rehabilitation scheme covering two plots, one of which (Plot 559) was reserved for recreational use. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority rejected her application, stating it was deficient and that Annexure‑II for part of Plot 569 had…

The appellant, Mis. Shabi Construction Co., entered into a lease agreement with the New Town Development Authority (CIDCO) for a commercial plot, the agreement stipulating a maximum Floor Space Index (FSI) of 2. While the agreement was pending, the State Government issued a notification increasing the permissible FSI f…

Pragati Mahila Mandal, a charitable trust, was allotted a 60‑year lease of a plot by Nanded Municipal Council to start a school for girls. Unable to fund the school, it instead operated a hostel for girls and working women on a no‑profit basis. A public‑interest writ petition filed by Anil Tryambakarao Kokil challenged…

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) issued a circular limiting the height of a public parking lot (PPL) in a high‑rise development to ground plus four floors, prompting the developer Kohinoor Ctnl Infrastructure Co. to challenge the stop‑work notice and the subsequent order restricting the PPL. The High …

The Bhusawal Municipal Council acquired 4.25 acres of agricultural land under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to build a primary school. After paying the initial compensation awarded under Section 11, the respondents obtained a reference court award under Section …

The Bhiwandi Municipal Council took over a strip of land for road widening and granted the appellants only repair permission for the remaining land (ground + two storeys). The appellants nevertheless erected a six‑storey building. The Council served a notice under Sections 52 and 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town…

The case concerned a slum rehabilitation project in Lower Parel, Mumbai, where a developer and a minority group of hutment dwellers (Sayunkta Sangharsh Samiti) entered into a private Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allocate flats in towers D, E and F exclusively to the society members, bypassing the Slum Rehabilit…

The case concerned 11.89 ha of land in Kondhwa Budruk, Pune, notified as Reserved Forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1878, which was later allotted to the Chavan family in 1998 for agricultural purposes without Central Government approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The Chavan family subsequently sold the…

The petitioners, a group of cooperative societies including Pranita Powerloom Co‑op. Society, sought acquisition of land for an industrial estate. The State cancelled the acquisition order on 30‑08‑2005 for non‑compliance with statutory requirements. The Bombay High Court, ignoring several objections and the lack of a …

Janhit Manch, an NGO, and its president challenged Maharashtra's slum rehabilitation scheme, specifically the 1991 Development Control Regulations (DCR) and the Transferable Development Right (TDR) policy that allowed an increase in Floor Space Index (FSI) in certain zones. They sought a review of the regulations on gr…

The appellants, owners of an 8,983 sq.m. plot in Mumbai, sought permission to develop a luxury hotel with additional floor space index (FSI) under Rule 10(2) of the Development Control Rules, 1967. The land fell within Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) II as per the 19 February 1991 notification issued under the Environmen…

The Union of India claimed ownership of land that had been sold at public auction to Mis. Mundra Salt & Chemical Industries and later acquired by the State of Maharashtra for a highway. The Union relied on Section 37 of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, which presumes Crown ownership where title is not established. T…

Girnar Traders, a partnership firm, owned land reserved under the Jalgaon Development Plan. After the State Government confirmed the firm's purchase notice, the municipal council failed to acquire the land under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (M.R.T.P. Act). The State later declared the land required fo…

The case arose from a tragic landslide on a National Highway caused by over‑mining and hill‑cutting, which killed a woman and her daughter. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the miner to pay a joint penalty, compensation to the victims' heirs and to fund a…

The Supreme Court heard a group of appeals challenging the Bombay High Court's handling of a public interest litigation that questioned the legality of Regulation 33(7) of the Development Control Regulations, 1991 as amended in 1999. The petitioners alleged that the amendment, which fixed a minimum floor space index of…

The State of Maharashtra issued notices under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 between 1968 and 1970 to acquire land covering 86 villages for the New Bombay township, with declarations under Section 6 in 1971‑72 and awards in 1985‑86. The land owners challenged the acquisition, alleging inordinate delay, tha…

The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) sought to acquire land reserved in the 1999 Development Plan for public purposes, but the land remained unacquired for over ten years. The landowners served a purchase notice under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (MRTP Act), and the corporatio…

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) issued a circular limiting the height of a public parking lot (PPL) to ground plus four upper floors, which conflicted with the developer Kohinoor's plan for a 13‑storey PPL. After a series of writ petitions, stop‑work notices and a settlement, the Supreme Court examin…

The appellants, owners of land reserved for Development Plan Roads under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, constructed the roads at their own cost, surrendered the land to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and were granted 25% transferable development rights (TDR). They later claimed the balance 75% (or 10…

The case concerned a 3,450‑sq‑metre plot (FP No.110) in Pune that was originally reserved for a garden and later for a primary school under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (MRTP Act). After the land was acquired, the developer, who was the son‑in‑law of the then Chief Minister, obtained a developme…

The Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) gifted land to the public trust Gorakshan Sabha, which later leased it to Kripa Mangal Karyalaya. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) granted building permits for structures on the land, which respondents 5 and 6 challenged through a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Bomb…

The case arose from a strike that closed 58 textile mills in Bombay, leading to the framing of Regulation 58 under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act to modernise mills and develop surplus land. The regulation was amended in 2001, prompting a public interest litigation challenging its validity. The Bombay H…

The case concerned a parcel of land in Jalgaon reserved for a development plan under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966. The appellant claimed that the State Government and Municipal Council failed to acquire the land within the time limits prescribed by the MRTP Act and sought relief under the…

Oswal Agro Mills Ltd. obtained permission from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to convert a plot in a Special Industrial Zone to a residential‑commercial complex adjacent to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.'s (HPCL) refinery. HPCL objected, citing safety, security and health risks, and the Bombay High C…

The appellant, owner of a 1.25‑lac‑sq‑ft land in Akola, challenged the award of compensation for land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for a flood‑protection wall, contending that the land was not wholly within the statutory ‘Blue Zone’ and that the market value should be based on arm‑length transactions. …

The case concerned a claim by Kausarbag Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. for Transferable Development Rights (TDR) on a 3.5‑acre parcel that had been acquired by the State under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and shown as an existing garden in the development plan. The Society argued that under Development Control Regu…

The Supreme Court examined a public‑interest writ filed by Padma challenging CIDCO's bulk sale of developable land in Aurangabad. The High Court had held that the allotments to several private entities were made without Board approval, at prices below the reserve price, and in violation of Section 115 of the Maharashtr…

The Dadar Avanti Cooperative Housing Society challenged the permission granted by the Municipal Commissioner allowing two flats in its building to be used as a surgical nursing home, a change from the residential use sanctioned in the original plan. The society argued that the building was approved for residential use …

The case concerned a parcel of land in Bandra, Bombay, originally shown as residential in the 1966 development plan, for which a developer sought permission to build a five‑star hotel. The Municipal Commissioner rejected the plan, citing a pending revision of the development plan that would earmark the land as a green …

The Municipal Council of Ahmednagar issued a notification under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 on 15 May 1971 and, after a compensation award on 26 April 1976, took possession of land. The respondents, Shah Hyder Beig and others, filed a writ petition in 1992—21 years after the notification and 16…

The appellants, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., surrendered land reserved for a recreation ground in Greater Mumbai and obtained a Development Rights Certificate (DRC) but later sought additional Transferable Development Rights (TDR) for the amenity. Their claim was rejected by the Municipal Corporation, first…

The appellants, private landowners in Maharashtra, challenged revenue annotations and mutation entries that labelled their lands as private forests and vested in the State, arguing that the statutory requirements for acquisition were not fulfilled. The State contended that notices issued under Section 35(3) of the Indi…

The Hari Krishna Mandir Trust, holding Plot No.473‑B3 and an adjoining private road, sought correction of a Town Planning Scheme that erroneously recorded the road as owned by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The High Court dismissed the trust's writ petition, holding that the land had vested in PMC under Section 88 o…

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) appealed to the Supreme Court against disparaging remarks made by the Bombay High Court in a writ petition challenging the validity of Development Control Regulation No.58 (OCR 58) under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The petition sought to ensur…

The case concerned the validity of Development Control Regulation 58 (OCR 58) under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, its 2001 amendment and a 2003 clarification, as applied to sick, closed or modernising cotton‑textile mills in Bombay. The petitioners, a public‑interest group, challenged OCR 58 on …

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay acquired lease‑hold land of the respondents under Section 126 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, relying on a 1972 notification that the land was earmarked for extending a sewage purification plant. Before the acquisition proceedings were completed, the…

The appellants, owners of plots reserved for roads, voluntarily surrendered their land and constructed the required roads at their own cost. They claimed that, under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act and the Development Control Regulations, they were entitled to additional Floor Space Index (FSI) or Transf…

The case concerned a dispute over the user of a 7,224‑sq‑yd plot in Mumbai leased to Abhinav Sahakar Education Society for a school, which the Municipal Corporation had originally earmarked as a playground in the draft development plan. The State Government later modified the plan, first by a 1985 notification reservin…

The 1986 development plan for Pune earmarked a privately‑owned 1.5‑acre Plot No.438 as a garden, but the Municipal Corporation and the State Government never acquired the land. After the owners (appellants) bought the plot, the Government de‑reserved it by notification on 12‑Feb‑1993, citing lack of funds. Residents fi…

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was directed by the Maharashtra Government under section 37 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 to amend its Development Control Rules (OCR) in line with Bombay's OCR. After publishing the proposed amendments and inviting objections, the State Government sanction…

The appellants, heirs of a plot of land in Borivali, challenged the reservation of their land for a municipal office under a Town Planning Scheme prepared under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (MRTP Act). After the scheme was finalized, an arbitrator determined compensation, which was paid, and the…

The petitioners filed a writ petition challenging the amendment of Regulation 33(7) of the Development Control Regulations, 1991 (Greater Mumbai), alleging that it was being misused to demolish privately owned, sound pre‑1940 buildings and that the regulation imposed unreasonable side‑space restrictions. The Bombay Hig…

The appellant owned land that was acquired by the state and an award was passed on 30‑11‑1987. A notice under Section 12(2) of the Land Acquisition Act was sent on 04‑12‑1987 but the award itself was not attached. The appellant received a certified copy of the award only on 03‑02‑1988 and filed a reference for enhancem…

The case concerned the acquisition of land in Pune for the extension of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market yard, designated for a "Bamboo Trade and Flea Market". The land owners and Mutha Associates failed to object during the planning and acquisition stages and only challenged the award after poss…

Tata Motors obtained a 99‑year lease of unalienated land from the Pimpri‑Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (the Development Authority) in 1995 and began industrial use in 1999. The state revenue authority issued demand notices for non‑agricultural cess for the period 1995‑96 to 2001‑02, which Tata Motors challen…

The appellants' original land was acquired under a Town Planning Scheme and they were awarded two final plots and monetary compensation by an arbitrator. They later sought additional Floor Space Index (FSI) and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) under the 1991 Development Control Regulations, which allowed such bene…

The State of Maharashtra appealed to the Supreme Court seeking expunction of adverse remarks made by the Bombay High Court against the then Chief Minister and the Managing Director of CIDCO, who were not parties to the proceedings. The High Court had interpreted the Chief Minister's notation "please put up" on land‑all…

The appellant, Hasmukhrai Mehta, owned land in Village Sheel, Raigad, which was originally included in a 1977 residential development plan. In 1999 the land was re‑designated for an Agricultural Produce Market Yard and a truck terminal, and the appellant served a purchase notice under Section 49 of the Maharashtra Regi…

The Promoters and Builders Association of Pune and the Nuclear Power Corporation excavated ordinary earth – the former for building foundations and the latter for widening a sea‑water intake channel – and were penalised under Section 48(7) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 for allegedly extracting a minor mine…

The appellants owned land that had been reserved for a public garden under a development plan notified in 1966 and continued under a revised plan in 1987. They served a notice under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act in 1989, seeking acquisition, but the notice was issued only two years after…

The appellants owned plots that were initially reserved for public purpose under a Draft Development Plan (1971) and later under Town Planning Scheme III (1976). After ten years elapsed from the final Development Plan coming into force, they served a notice under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Plannin…

The appellant, owner of land reserved for a college under a development plan, sought release of the land after the college was disaffiliated. The land had not been acquired within the ten‑year period prescribed by Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, nor were any acquisition steps taken …

The appellants, owners of Plot No.878 and a portion of Plot No.879 in Mumbai, relied on a motorable access through Plot No.879 to reach their land, as no other road existed. After the respondent acquired the remaining part of Plot No.879, it obstructed this access, prompting the appellants to seek a perpetual injunctio…

The petitioners, owners of land in Sholapur, challenged the acquisition of their land under the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act, 1976, arguing that the Act should not apply to land reserved for public purpose under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and that sections 10, 11 and 23 of the Act vio…

The appellants, residents of slums on privately owned plots in Kurla, challenged the approval of a slum rehabilitation scheme that treated their private plots together with adjoining municipal plots as a single slum area. They argued that the authorities wrongly clubbed the lands, that consent of the required 70% of el…

The Shrirampur Municipal Council had reserved parcels of land for public purposes under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, but failed to acquire them within the statutory period. The landowners served purchase notices under Section 127 of the Act, after which the Council passed resolutions and sent l…

The Public Concern for Governance Trust filed a public interest litigation challenging the allotment of six residential plots in Navi Mumbai to cooperative societies that were alleged to be dummy entities set up by Vijay Associates (Wadhwa) Developers. The Bombay High Court quashed the allotments, ordered forfeiture of…