HC pulls up Maha officials for inaction on Nirav Modi bungalow

The Bombay High Court pulled up today the Raigad Collector for not taking any action in connection with allegations regarding illegal construction of a bungalow near here belonging to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi.

The bungalow in question is in Alibaug in Raigad district, about 100 kilometres from here.

Modi is an accused in the USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank scam.

A bench of Justices AS Oka and RI Chagla also questioned the basis on which the collector and the local sub-divisional officer (SDO) had decided to close the files, and thus not initiate any proceedings, including demolition, of Modi's bungalow.

The bench said that the conduct of the above authorities was compelling it to direct the state government to initiate an inquiry into the inaction over Modi's bungalow as well as other unauthorised structures in the area.

"The manner in which the local authorities are behaving when it comes to this bungalow and to all illegal construction along beaches is forcing us to direct the principal secretary of the state Revenue Department to initiate an inquiry in the case," the bench said.

It posted the matter to Thursday for passing of orders.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by activist Surendra Dhavale seeking that the court direct the authorities to demolish all unauthorised construction "within the low and high tide areas" in a bunch of villages in Alibaug.

As per the petition, such construction was carried out in violation of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority rules and the land laws of the state.

There are around 175 such private residences in CRZ areas in villages such as Varsoli, Sasvane, Kolgaon and Dokvade, among others, in Alibaug taluka, belonging to several "wealthy persons, including Nirav Modi, and several businessmen and film actors", the PIL claimed.

In compliance with a previous order of the bench, Raigad collector Vijay Suryavanshi filed an affidavit today.

As per the affidavit, Modi's bungalow was constructed prior to 1986 -- before the coastal zone norms were ratified for the Raigad area, and therefore, it could not be held in any violation.

The collector also submitted that in October, 2009 the SDO had issued a demolition notice, but Modi had challenged the order on the ground that he had not been granted a hearing before issuance of the notice.

The SDO then referred the case to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), the collector's affidavit stated.

It further claimed that in 2011, while the case was pending with the MCZMA, Modi informed the SDO that his bungalow was constructed before 1986 and, therefore, could not be demolished.

In the affidavit, Suryavanshi said that the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) concerned had referred a total of 159 cases of alleged illegal construction in Alibaug to the Maharashtra Coastal Management Zone Authority.

In the affidavit, he said that 12 of these were demolished, land records of several others were still being ascertained, and it was found that Modi's bungalow was not in

violation of any norms.

The collector, however, told court that he was still awaiting the MCZMA's comments on Modi's bungalow and in case any illegality was found, appropriate action will be taken against the structure.

The collector's office also submitted that since the said bungalow had now been attached by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), it could not take any action.

The bench, however, took strong exception to the above submissions.

"The affidavit merely states that Mr Modi's bungalow was constructed prior to 1986. But what is the basis of this finding? Is there any land record or official document to affirm the same?" the bench asked.

"Also, what use is the statement that the collector's office can't take action in view of the CBI having attached the property? The collector is not helpless," the bench said.

The bench also noted that, through an order passed in June this year, the SDO had dropped all proceedings against Modi's bungalow and closed the concerned file.

"How was it the SDO's prerogative to close the file? On what basis are the authorities closing proceedings against Mr Modi's bungalow?" the bench asked.

"Considering that all files in the case have been closed, all assurances now being extended by the collector are meaningless," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)