Saldanha Real Estate Private Limited vs Bishop John Rodrigues

2025 INSC 1016 REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

Civil Appeal No. __________ / 2025 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 15454 / 2024)

Saldanha Real Estate Private Limited ….Appellant(s) versus Bishop John Rodrigues and others ….Respondent(s) with

Civil Appeal No. __________ / 2025 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 15711 / 2024)

Shri Kadeshwari CHS Ltd (proposed) ….Appellant(s) versus Bishop John Rodrigues and others ….Respondent(s) with

Civil Appeal No. __________ / 2025 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 16209 / 2024)

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority and another ….Appellant(s) versus Bishop John Rodrigues and others ….Respondent(s)

JUDGEMENT

SURYA KANT, J.

Leave granted.

2. The dispute under consideration in these Civil Appeals concerns the

Signature Not Verified validity of the acquisition of a portion of land located at CTS No. B-960 Digitally signed by ARJUN BISHT Date: 2025.08.22 12:23:03 IST Reason: in Village Bandra, Taluka Andheri, Mumbai, measuring 1,596.40 sq. m.

(Subject Land) under the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement,

Page 1 of 39 Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 (Slums Act). The High Court of

Judicature at Bombay (High Court), vide the Impugned Judgement

dated 11.06.2024, has: (i) allowed the writ petition filed by the

landowner, declaring the acquisition void; and (ii) directed the Slum

Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to consider the proposal of the landowner

for redevelopment. The instant appeals have thus been preferred by the

proposed housing society of slum dwellers, the developer selected by the

said society, and the SRA.

3. The instant appeals involve an in-depth analysis of the text as well as the

legislative policy behind Chapter I-A of the Slums Act, specifically

regarding the rights of landowners to redevelop a Slum Rehabilitation

Area (SR Area) and the corresponding duties of the SRA. At the outset,

we note that by a judgement of even date, titled Tarabai Nagar Co-Op.

Hog. Society (Proposed) v. The State of Maharashtra and others,1 a

2-Judge Bench of this Court, including one of us (Surya Kant, J.), has

dealt with a substantial part of the arguments raised in these appeals. The Bench, therein, upheld the decision of another Division Bench of the

High Court in Indian Cork Mills (P) Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra,2

laying down that: (i) the private owner of a Slum Rehabilitation Area has

a preferential right to develop it; (ii) as part of this right, the owner must

be notified and invited to undertake such redevelopment; and (iii)

without such notice being issued and such right being extinguished, it

1 Supreme Court of India, Civil Appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 19774 of

2018, judgement dated 22.08.2025.

2 2018 SCC OnLine Bom 1214.

Page 2 of 39 would be untenable for the State or the SRA to acquire the land under

Section 14.

4. The legislative interpretation we are tasked with undertaking in these

appeals has largely been addressed by the Bench in Tarabai (supra).

Having previously examined the law regarding the questions answered

therein, this Court does not need to revisit the analysis of the Slums Act.

The only remaining issue for us to consider through this judgement is

the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and

Redevelopment) (Amendment) Act, 2017 (2018 Amendment).

A. LEGISLATIVE SCHEME

5. The legislative scheme of the Slums Act prior to the 2018 Amendment

has already been detailed extensively in Tarabai (supra).3 However,

before delving into the facts of this case, it would be apposite to first

explore the impact of the said Amendment on the slum rehabilitation

framework envisaged in Chapter I-A of the Slums Act.

6. The Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and

Redevelopment) (Amendment) Act, 2017, which came into force on

26.04.2018, was enacted to improve the practical implementation of the

Slums Act and to expand the scope of slum rehabilitation. It introduced

various improvements, both significant and minor, into the legislative

framework for slum rehabilitation.

3 See Paragraphs 5 to 38 of Tarabai (supra).

Page 3 of 39

7. Section 3B is one of the key areas where such a change was

implemented.4

7.1. In sub-section (1), the Legislature introduced the ability for the SRA to

amend an already operative General Slum Rehabilitation Scheme

(General SR Scheme).

7.2. Further, the provisions which, prior to the Amendment, were included in

sub-section (4),5 namely, the matters which shall be provided for in the

General SR Scheme, have now been relocated to sub-section (5). While

the scheme itself and its tenor remain unchanged, the scope of these

matters has been broadened. For example, provisions for compensation

in lieu of transit accommodation, as well as for the grant of tenements to

non-protected occupiers, were introduced. Most notably, the Legislature

has amended the stakeholders specified in Clauses (c) and (g) (which

correspond to Clauses (c) and (e), respectively, before the 2018

Amendment) from ‘landholders and occupants’ to ‘owners, landholders

and occupants’. It is worth noting that although the term ‘owner’ was

already defined in Section 2(f) of the Slums Act,6 it has been included in

the procedure for Slum Rehabilitation Schemes (SR Schemes) only after

the 2018 Amendment.

7.3. In its place, a new sub-section (4) has been added, stipulating that the

General SR Scheme shall be deemed to be ‘Development Control

4 For pre-2018 Amendment version, see Paragraph 19 of Tarabai (supra).

5 See Paragraph 19 of Tarabai (supra).

6 See Paragraph 7 of Tarabai (supra).

Page 4 of 39 Regulations’ under the Maharashtra Town Planning Act, 1966 for an SR

Area and clarifying that the General SR Scheme shall prevail over any

other Development Control Regulations in force, such as the

Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Greater Mumbai,

2034 (DCPR 2034).

7.4. For complete clarity, the relevant portion of the amended version of

Section 3B is reproduced below:

“3B. Slum Rehabilitation Schemes. – (1) The Slum Rehabilitation Authority concerned, with the previous sanction of the State Government, shall prepare or amend the general Slum Rehabilitation Scheme for the areas specified under sub-section (1) of section 3A, for rehabilitation or relocation of protected occupiers and other occupiers of the building in such areas.

[xxxx] (4) The general Slum Rehabilitation Scheme published under sub-

section (3) shall be deemed Development Control Regulations under the provisions of Chapter III of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (Mah. XXXVII of 1966), for the said area and the provisions of the general Slum Rehabilitation Scheme shall prevail over the Development Control Regulations, published under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (Mah. XXXVII of 1966).

(5) The Slum Rehabilitation Scheme so notified under sub-section (3) shall, generally lay down the parameters for declaration of any land as the Slum Rehabilitation Area and indicate the manner in which rehabilitation of the occupants of the area declared as Slum Rehabilitation Area shall be carried out. In particular, it shall provide for all or any of the following matters, that is to say,-

[xxxx]

(c) provision for obligatory participation of the owners, landholders and occupants of the land declared as the Slum Rehabilitation Area under the approved Slum Rehabilitation Scheme in the implementation of such Scheme;

(d) provision relating to transit accommodation or entitlement of compensation in lieu of transit accommodation to the slum dwellers pending development of the Slum Rehabilitation Area;

(e) provision relating to allotment of tenements either in-situ or otherwise, on development free of cost to the protected occupiers of the building in such Slum Rehabilitation Area;

(f) provision relating to allotment of tenements either in-situ or otherwise, on ownership or on rent, to the other non-protected occupiers up to the 1st January 2011, subject to the availability of tenements as per the terms and conditions and guidelines so

Page 5 of 39 notified in the Official Gazette, by the Chief Executive Officer with the prior approval of the State Government;

(g) scheme for development of the Slum Rehabilitation Areas under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme by the landholders and occupants by themselves or through a developer and the terms and conditions of such development; and the option available to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority for taking up such development in the event of non-participation of the landholders or occupants;

[xxxx] ”

8. The process for declaring land as an SR Area under Section 3C(1) was

also augmented.7 Following the amendment, the CEO must provide the

owners and other stakeholders a 30-day notice and an opportunity to be

heard before issuing a reasoned order. Only then can the CEO declare

the land an SR Area (Section 3C(1) Declaration). However, the method

of publication/publicity of the Section 3C(1) Declaration remains

unchanged. For reference, the text of the amended Section 3C(1) is

provided below.

“3C. Declaration of a slum rehabilitation area. – (1) As soon as may be, after the publication of any Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, the Chief Executive Officer on being satisfied about the circumstances in respect of any land, whether or not previously declared as slum area, justifying its declaration as the Slum Rehabilitation Area which may include community economic activity area, for implementing the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, shall after giving the land owners, including any public authorities or local bodies under the State Government constituted under any law enacted by the State Legislature, thirty days notice and after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard, by an order published in the Official Gazette, and thereafter within forty-five days, declare such land to be a “Slum Rehabilitation Area”. The order declaring the Slum Rehabilitation Area (hereinafter referred to as “the slum rehabilitation order”), shall also be given wide publicity in such manner as may be specified by the Chief Executive Officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. Thereafter, notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, in such Slum Rehabilitation Area, the permission or the No Objection Certificate of the land owning authority or agency shall not be required:

Provided that, only in respect of any land which is required for Vital Public Project purpose, as per orders of the State Government and where the State Government either directly or through any public

7 For pre-2018 Amendment version, see Paragraph 20 of Tarabai (supra).

Page 6 of 39 authority has undertaken the responsibility of relocation and rehabilitation of the protected and other occupiers of the building, then the Chief Executive Officer shall, exclude the land required for Vital Public Project from the Slum Rehabilitation Area and issue an order to omit such land from the Slum Rehabilitation Area. Where the State Government either directly or through any public authority has undertaken the responsibility of relocation and rehabilitation of the protected and other occupiers of the building, such public authority shall prepare the Scheme of such rehabilitation or relocation and get it approved by the Chief Executive Officer within the period specified in the Scheme which shall not be more than ninety days. (2) Any person aggrieved by the order of the Chief Executive Officer may, within thirty days of the publication of such slum rehabilitation order, prefer an appeal to the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee. The decision of the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee in such appeal shall be final.

(3) On the completion of the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, the Slum Rehabilitation Area shall cease to be such area.”

9. Substantial changes were also made to Section 3D, which, inter alia,

modifies Sections 13 and 14 for their applicability to Chapter I-A of the

Slums Act.8

9.1. Sub-clause (iii) of Clause (c) of this Section describes the applicability of

Section 13 to an SR Area. Through the 2018 Amendment, significant

changes have been made to the text of the provision. For reference,

Section 13, as it would apply under Chapter I-A after the amendment,

reads as follows:

“13. Power of Slum Rehabilitation Authority to develop Slum Rehabilitation Area. – (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (10) of section 12, the Chief Executive Officer shall, after any land has been declared as the Slum Rehabilitation Area, including community economic activity area, if the owners, landholders or occupants of such land do not come forward within a reasonable time, which shall not be more than one hundred and twenty days, required for relocation and rehabilitation of protected and other occupiers justifying with the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme for redevelopment of such land, by order, determine to redevelop such land by entrusting into any agency or other developer for the purpose.

8 For pre-2018 Amendment version, see Paragraphs 27 and 28 of Tarabai (supra).

Page 7 of 39 (2) Where on declaration of any land as Slum Rehabilitation Area, the Chief Executive Officer is satisfied that, the land in the Slum Rehabilitation Area has been or is being developed by the owners, landholders or occupants or developers in contravention of the plans duly approved, or any restrictions or conditions imposed under sub- section (10) of section 12, or in contravention of any provision of any Slum Rehabilitation Scheme or any condition specified in the approval or has not been developed within the time, as specified under such conditions of approval, he may, by order, determine to develop the land declared as Slum Rehabilitation Area by entrusting it to any agency or the other developer recognized by him for the purpose. (3) The agency or the other developer so appointed shall within a period of forty-five days of the order of the Chief Executive Officer, be required to deposit an amount of compensation payable to the outgoing landowners or occupants or developers, as the case may be, for expenditure incurred by them on payment made to any public authority, local bodies for receiving approvals for the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme and construction of rehabilitation tenements as determined by the Chief Executive Officer:

Provided that, such compensation shall not be payable by the agency appointed by the Chief Executive Officer, for any expenditure incurred towards construction to meet conditional obligations made to any third party by the landowners or occupants or previous developers, as the case may be. The Chief Executive Officer before passing such order shall obtain report from approved valuer independently appointed on his behalf and by the concerned parties to the proceeding before the Chief Executive Officer:

Provided further that, before passing such order by the Chief Executive Officer, the concerned landowner or occupant or developer, as the case may be, shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and time which shall not be more than thirty days of showing cause why the order should not be passed:

Provided also that, an appeal, if any, against the order of the Chief Executive Officer shall be filed before the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee and order of the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee shall be final and binding on all the parties.”

9.2. With this amendment, the notion of ‘reasonable time’ in sub-section (1)

has been qualified with the phrase, “which shall not be more than one

hundred and twenty days.” Previously, no such qualification was

provided for. Additionally, the pre-condition under sub-section (1) has

changed from ‘come forward … with a scheme for redevelopment’ to

‘come forward … for redevelopment of such land’.

Page 8 of 39 9.3. Notably, when the 2018 Amendment was originally introduced, the final

proviso in Section 13 referred to the Grievance Redressal Committee

(GRC). However, in 2023, with a retrospective amendment, this body was

renamed as the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee (AGRC).9

9.4. Although the amendment has kept the procedure for land acquisition

under Chapter I-A untouched, it would be prudent for us to reproduce

Section 14, as it applies to the said Chapter:

“14. Power of State Government to acquire land. – (1) Where on any representation from the Chief Executive Officer it appears to the State Government that, in order to enable the Slum Rehabilitation Authority to carry out development under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme in any Slum Rehabilitation Area it is necessary that such area, or any land within adjoining or surrounded by any such area should be acquired, the State Government may acquire the land by publishing in the Official Gazette, a notice to the effect that the State Government has decided to acquire the land in pursuance of this section:

Provided that, before publishing such notice, the State Government, or as the case may be, the Competent Authority may call upon by notice the owner of, or any other person who, in its or his opinion may be interested in, such land to show cause in writing why the land should not be acquired with reasons therefor, to the Competent Authority within the period specified in the notice; and the Competent Authority shall, with all reasonable despatch, forward any objections so submitted together with his report in respect thereof to the State Government and on considering the report and the objections, if any, the State Government may pass such order as it deems fit. Provided further that, the State Government may delegate its powers under this sub-section to any officer not below the rank of Commissioner.

(1A) The acquisition of land for any purpose mentioned in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a public purpose.

(2) When a notice as aforesaid is published in the Official Gazette, the land shall, on and from the date on which the notice is so published, vest absolutely in the State Government free from all encumbrances.”

9 Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) (Amendment, Re-

enactment of Rules and Notification of Apex and other Grievance Redressal Committees and Validation) Act, 2023, s 4.

Page 9 of 39

10. As in Tarabai (supra), the instant case also pertains to an SR Area

under Chapter I-A. It is, thus, clarified that wherever the provisions of

Chapters IV and V are referred to in this Judgement, the reference is to

the modified provisions which are now encapsulated in Section 3D.

B. FACTS

11. Having considered the changes introduced through the 2018

Amendment, we now proceed to observe the facts in detail, as portrayed

below.

11.1. The plot bearing CTS No. B-960 in Village Bandra, Taluka Andheri,

Mumbai, admeasuring a total area of 9,371.30 sq. m., is owned by the

Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount (Church Trust), a Public Trust based

in Mumbai. The Church Trust operates the Mount Mary Church in

Bandra, Mumbai, where, at the relevant time, Bishop John Rodrigues

served as the Rector and the sole trustee. The Subject Land, measuring

1,596.40 sq. m., is part of this larger plot.

11.2. The Subject Land has reportedly been encroached upon by hutment

dwellers since the 1930s, and a section admeasuring 1,334 sq. m. was

thereupon declared a Slum Area under Section 4 of the Slums Act on

30.11.1978. Over time, the hutment area (Subject Slum) expanded, and

the notification dated 30.11.1978 was accordingly amended on

12.06.2002, increasing the declared Slum Area to 1,532 sq. m.

Subsequently, through further expansion, the Subject Slum extended

Page 10 of 39 into an adjoining plot bearing CTS No. B-967, owned by the

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

11.3. In the intervening period, the dwellers of the Subject Slum formed the

Shri Kadeshwari Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. (Proposed)

(Kadeshwari Society). It appears from the records that there were 35

identified tenements in the Subject Slum, prior to 01.01.2000, who are

all members of Kadeshwari Society.

11.4. Since 2012, Kadeshwari Society and the Church Trust (through its sole

trustee) have been in communication regarding the redevelopment of the

Subject Slum. The record indicates that the parties had initially met for

this purpose, but it was subsequently identified that the land fell within

the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), which impacted the feasibility of any

attempted redevelopment project.

11.5. In due course, however, the Government sought to relax restrictions on

the redevelopment of slums in CRZ areas, making rehabilitation on the

Subject Land feasible. This sparked a fresh round of communication

among the parties.

11.6. In this context, vide letter dated 13.06.2013, the Church Trust called on

Kadeshwari Society to: (i) submit written consent of all the 35 slum

dwellers eligible for rehabilitation; (ii) procure a resolution passed by the

General Body of Kadeshwari Society authorising redevelopment; and (iii)

to permit the Society’s chosen developer to submit a tentative offer for

redevelopment, subject to the outcome of a tender process.

Page 11 of 39 11.7. Kadeshwari Society initially appointed M/s Accord Estates as its

preferred developer and notified the Church Trust accordingly. The

Society also appears to have entered into development agreements,

individual agreements, and tripartite agreements with this developer.

However, no further steps were taken in the following years until 2017.

11.8. Citing inaction on the part of M/s Accord Estates, Kadeshwari Society

terminated all agreements with this firm and its promoter. It, instead,

resolved to enter into an agreement with another developer, namely, M/s

Saldanha Real Estates Pvt. Ltd. (Saldanha), for the redevelopment of the

Subject Slum. Consequently, on 28.12.2017, Kadeshwari Society entered

into a Development Agreement with and executed a Power of Attorney in

favour of Saldanha. The developer also entered into individual

Development Agreements with the slum dwellers.

11.9. Having crystallised this relationship, Kadeshwari Society then besought

the Church Trust to grant a No-Objection Certificate to Saldanha,

allowing it to redevelop the Subject Land and to rehabilitate the slum

dwellers on it.

11.10. Meanwhile, Saldanha also approached the Church Trust with a proposal

to purchase the Subject Land on an ‘as-is-where-is’ basis. Saldanha and

the sole trustee of the Church Trust deliberated on this issue on

21.03.2018, pursuant to which the developer forwarded an offer of INR

2.5 crores for the Subject Land. The offer was later revised to INR 3

crores, but the parties did not proceed with this deal.

Page 12 of 39 11.11. It is pertinent to highlight at this stage that the Church Trust intended

to develop the Subject Land along with the rest of its land in CTS No.

B-960, as well as some other adjoining plots, totalling approximately

10,709 sq. m. in land area. The plan was to redevelop ‘Nirmala Colony’,

including the Subject Land, as a contiguous project.

11.12. However, when this proposal was presented to the slum dwellers,

Kadeshwari Society sent a communication dated 04.02.2019 to the

Church Trust, opposing a composite project and requesting the Trust to

allow independent redevelopment of the Subject Land by Saldanha.

11.13. This was followed by a series of communications between Kadeshwari

Society and the Church Trust, where the former sought an NOC for

redevelopment by Saldanha, while the latter attempted to obtain consent

from the slum dwellers for combined development.

11.14. In this backdrop, Kadeshwari Society submitted a proposal dated

24.09.2019 before the SRA for the declaration of the entire Subject Slum,

now covering 1,976.60 sq. m. (1,596.40 sq. m. being the Subject Land

and 380.20 sq. m. being BMC’s land), as an SR Area under Section

3C(1).10

11.15. Parallelly, the Church Trust sent a letter dated 07.02.2020 to the Chief

Executive Officer of the SRA (CEO), informing that it was in

communication with the slum dwellers. It stated that the representatives

of the Trust had met with the members of Kadeshwari Society, and the

10 Reproduced in Paragraph 8.

Page 13 of 39 dwellers had accepted the feasibility of the composite development. The

Church Trust also submitted a feasibility report prepared by its architect

for the redevelopment of the area.

11.16. The SRA, however, disregarded the Church Trust’s communication and,

instead, acted on the proposal of the Kadeshwari Society. It issued public

notices as well as a specific notice to the Trust on 30.09.2020, calling for

objections to the proposal for a Section 3C(1) Declaration.

11.17. The Church Trust filed its written objections and attended the

subsequent hearing on the proposal. It conveyed its intention to

redevelop the Subject Property on its own, without the interference of a

third-party. The Trust also averred that the Subject Land was not densely

populated, and the structures thereon had sufficient ventilation, light,

sanitation, and facilities, considering which it should not be designated

as a slum.

11.18. The CEO after the hearing the parties, vide order dated 29.12.2020,

rejected the objections of the Church Trust and declared the Subject

Slum as an SR Area. The Section 3C(1) Declaration dated 29.12.2020

was published in the Official Gazette on 31.12.2020, and the order and

the declaration were also forwarded by the SRA to the Church Trust on

05.01.2021.

11.19. Aggrieved, the Church Trust challenged the order dated 29.12.2020

through statutory appeal under Section 3C(2)11 bearing Application No.

11 Reproduced in Paragraph 8.

Page 14 of 39 20 of 2021 before the AGRC on 01.02.2021. The AGRC does not appear

to have heard the appeal even a single time, and it has remained pending

to date.

11.20. Following the declaration dated 29.12.2020, Saldanha and the Church

Trust filed their respective proposals for redevelopment.

11.21. Saldanha filed its proposal dated 23.04.2021 in accordance with SRA’s

Circular No. 14412 and Regulation 33(10) of the DCPR 203413 for

redevelopment of the Subject Slum. This proposal was filed with support

from Kadeshwari Society.

11.22. On the other hand, the Church Trust filed its proposal through a letter

dated 04.05.2021, sent by its architect to the SRA. It envisaged the

rehabilitation of the Subject Slum through the aforementioned composite

development of the Nirmala Colony and included relevant maps and

design plans. It was clarified in the communication that the proposal was

made without prejudice to and subject to the outcome of Application

No. 20 of 2021. The Church Trust also submitted its composite proposal

before the BMC.

11.23. The record reveals that the SRA only took steps to consider Saldanha’s

proposal, completing various internal processes by July 2021. However,

faced with the objection of the Church Trust to this proposal, Kadeshwari

12 See Paragraph 38 of Tarabai (supra).

13 See Paragraph 35 of Tarabai (supra).

Page 15 of 39 Society submitted an application on 09.09.2021 for the acquisition of the

Subject Land under Section 14.14

11.24. The SRA, in response to the above-stated application, issued a public

notice dated 29.10.2021, calling for objections from all interested parties

to the proposal for acquisition. The Church Trust submitted its written

objections, and in the course of the acquisition proceedings, the

representatives of the Trust were also heard on 14.12.2021. Thereafter,

another hearing was set for 31.12.2021.

11.25. Before the second hearing could be conducted, the Executive Engineer,

SRA, vide order dated 22.12.2021, rejected the Church Trust’s proposal

dated 04.05.2021. The reasons given in the order were that: (i) the

proposal was not within the prescribed format; (ii) it was not submitted

to the correct authority/officer; and (iii) the proposal filed by Saldanha

was already being processed.

11.26. After the second hearing on 31.12.2021, anticipating irreversible

consequences of the acquisition, the Church Trust moved the AGRC for

an urgent interim stay on the Section 3C(1) Declaration dated

29.12.2020, but it was promptly declined on 07.01.2022.

11.27. The Church Trust, thus, aggrieved by the initiation of acquisition

proceedings, approached the High Court through Writ Petition No. 1212

of 2022, seeking quashing of the notice dated 29.10.2021.

14 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.4.

Page 16 of 39 11.28. During the pendency of the Writ Petition, the SRA completed the scrutiny

of Saldanha’s SR Scheme and granted an in-principle approval on

28.03.2022. This acceptance was, however, restricted to that area of the

Subject Slum which was on the BMC’s land. It was clarified that

consideration for the proposal qua the Subject Land would be taken up

only after its acquisition was completed.

11.29. On the very next day, the CEO, vide order dated 29.03.2022, approved

the acquisition proposal on the premise that the Church Trust had not

filed an SR Scheme within 120 days. The proposal for acquisition was,

as such, directed to be forwarded to the State Government for approval.

11.30. Consequently, the Church Trust sought to amend its Writ Petition, which

was allowed by the High Court, vide order dated 08.04.2022, so as to

enable the Church Trust to bring these subsequent events on record. In

the amended Writ Petition, an additional prayer to set aside the order

dated 29.03.2022 was also incorporated. The High Court, while

entertaining the amended Writ Petition, directed as an interim measure

that no further steps towards the acquisition would be taken till the next

date of hearing. That order remained operative till the Writ Petition was

finally decided.

11.31. The High Court vide the Impugned Judgement dated 11.06.2024,

allowed the Writ Petition and, relying upon the reasoning assigned in

Indian Cork Mills (supra), held that the Church Trust had a preferential

right to develop the Subject Land. It further held that: (i) the SRA

Page 17 of 39 neglected this right of the Trust; (ii) the acquisition proceedings were

marred by the absence of any proper notice to the Trust; and (iii) the

questionable conduct of the SRA, Saldanha, and Kadeshwari Society

vitiated the entire acquisition. The High Court, consequently, set aside

the notice dated 29.10.2021 and the order dated 29.03.2022, allowing

the Church Trust to proceed with development of the Subject Land.

11.32. Kadeshwari Society, Saldanha, and the SRA, being aggrieved, have filed

separate appeals challenging the Impugned Judgement.

C. CONTENTIONS

12. Mr. Shyam Divan, learned Senior Counsel, representing Kadeshwari

Society, highlighted the alleged shortcomings in the Church Trust’s

development proposal. In this regard, he made the following

submissions:

(a) The High Court, even preliminarily, ought not to have entertained

the Church Trust’s Writ Petition. The notice dated 29.10.2021 and

the order dated 29.03.2022 neither caused any prejudice to the

Trust nor created any rights in favour of a third-party. The notice

and the order were merely procedural and did not merit

interference, since no final decision had been taken on the proposed

acquisition.

(b) The mandatory notice and hearings before a Section 3C(1)

Declaration eliminate the need for another notice under

Page 18 of 39 Section 13.15 The 120-day time limit further indicates a shift in

legislative policy, where the onus of submitting a proposal is placed

on the landowner. The provisions amended in 2018 render the

judicial mandate for a specific notice to invite the landowner for

redevelopment incompatible.

(c) The Church Trust has acted lackadaisically towards the interests of

the slum dwellers as well as its own interests in the Subject Land.

It never exercised its right to develop the Subject Land since 1978,

when part of it was declared as Slum Area. Even after the

Section 3C(1) Declaration, the Trust never submitted any SR

Scheme as per Regulation 33(10) of DCPR 2034.

(d) The Church Trust’s proposal dated 04.05.2021 is belated. The

period of 120 days prescribed under Section 1316 would start from

the publication of the Section 3C(1) Declaration in the Official

Gazette, viz., 31.12.2020. As such, the 120 days were over on

30.04.2021, and the Trust was 5 days late in submitting its

proposal.

(e) Although this Court, through successive orders passed in Suo Motu

Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3 of 2020 and connected matters, has

generally extended the period of limitation from 2020 till 2022 due

15 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

16 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

Page 19 of 39 to the then ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, such extension does not

apply to the time limit in Section 13(1).17

(f) SR Schemes are to be submitted in the format prescribed by the

Guidelines for the Implementation of Slum Rehabilitation Policy in

Greater Mumbai, 199718 and Regulation 33(10) of the DCPR 2034.

As per SRA’s Circular No. 144, strict conformity with the format is

a prerequisite for consideration of the proposed SR Scheme. The

Church Trust’s proposal dated 04.05.2021 does not adhere to any

of these stipulations and was thus rightly rejected by the SRA vide

order dated 22.12.2021. The Trust has not challenged this order

before any forum, so it cannot rely on the said proposal to claim that

it has fulfilled its duty under Section 13.

(g) There was no procedural infirmity in or ulterior motive behind the

notice dated 29.10.2021 and order dated 29.03.2022. The former

was only to invite objections to the acquisition proposal, in line with

the first proviso to Section 14. The latter is a reasoned order, passed

after hearing all the parties, merely recommending the acquisition

of the Subject Land to the State Government.

13. Mr. Sudhanshu S. Choudhari, learned Senior Counsel on behalf of the

SRA, in response to a specific query, clarified that the SRA was not

intending to take any sides among the parties. The appeal was filed to

challenge the High Court’s interpretation of the owner’s preferential

17 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

18 See Paragraph 36 of Tarabai (supra).

Page 20 of 39 right. His contentions, however, have already been considered and

negatived by this Court in Tarabai (supra).

14. Mr. Nikhil Sakhardande, learned Senior Counsel representing Saldanha,

apart from adopting the arguments made by Mr. Divan, sought to

impress upon this Court that the proposed acquisition was not an

attempt to grab the Church Trust’s land. Rather, it was a bona fide effort

to ensure redevelopment of the Subject Slum, motivated by the incentive

of reasonable profits.

15. Dr. Milind Sathe and Mr. Chander Uday Singh, learned Senior Counsels

appearing on behalf of the Church Trust, asserted the correctness of the

Impugned Judgement and underlined the attempted breach of the

Trust’s preferential rights through the acquisition. They made the

following averments:

(a) The time limit of 120 days in Section 1319 is only directory in nature

and not mandatory. Even if it is considered mandatory, the period

would only begin when a specific notice is received by the owner.

The Church Trust has submitted its proposal within 120 days of

05.01.2021, when it was informed of the Section 3C(1) Declaration.

(b) In any event, the directions of this Court in Cognizance for

Extension of Limitation, In re20 generally extending the period of

limitation from 2020 till 2022, would also apply to the limit of 120

19 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

20 (2022) 3 SCC 117.

Page 21 of 39 days. Additionally, even as a matter of equity, the Church Trust

should not be deprived of its inherent ownership rights due to an

inconsequential delay of a few days.

(c) There is no legislative requirement to submit the proposal as per

Regulation 33(10) of the DCPR 2034. It is only applicable when

development incentives are sought under that Regulation, and the

landowner can choose not to invoke Regulation 33(10). As such, the

proposal of the Church Trust was wrongly disregarded merely for

alleged inconsonance with format requirements.

(d) The SRA or the private parties have shown no necessity to acquire

the land for redevelopment. The CEOs’ order dated 29.03.2022 only

mentions that an acquisition is required because 120 days have

passed and the owner has not submitted any SR Scheme.

(e) Moreover, there is a mala-fide intention behind the acquisition, i.e.,

Saldanha’s objective to grab the Subject Land. When the developer’s

original attempt to purchase the land fell through, it initiated the

process to acquire it through Kadeshwari Society and the SRA for a

very low price.

(f) The SRA, for the reasons best known to it, exhibited a singular focus

towards opposing the Church Trust’s attempts to redevelop, so as

to pave the way for Saldanha’s SR Scheme. The Trust’s proposal was

discarded on hyper-technical grounds, while Saldanha’s

submission was processed despite its own defects. It is in pursuance

Page 22 of 39 of this resolve of the SRA that the acquisition process was initiated

under Saldanha’s SR Scheme without formally rejecting the Trust’s

proposal.

(g) The decisions taken by Kadeshwari Society are highly suspect, as

only 7 out of 35 members are signatories to them. This assertion is

further fortified by the fact that the Society refuses to accept the

owner’s proposal for larger units with better facilities as compared

to the smaller units offered by Saldanha. The Society has no

justification for not accepting a composite development. Kadeshwari

Society cannot dictate the manner of development; its members only

have a right to rehabilitation as per the law, not to a specific

rehabilitation of their choice.

D. ISSUES

16. Having regard to the issues already adjudicated upon in Tarabai

(supra), we deem it appropriate to confine our analysis to the following

three questions:

I. Whether the High Court has rightly rejected Kadeshwari Society’s

preliminary objection?

II. Whether the 2018 Amendment impacts the law laid down in Indian

Cork Mills (supra) and as reiterated in Tarabai (supra)?

III. Whether, in the facts of the instant case, the High Court rightly set

aside the notice dated 29.10.2021 and the order dated 29.03.2022?

Page 23 of 39 E. ANALYSIS

E.1 Issue I: Preliminary Objection

17. It would be suitable, at the outset, to address the preliminary issue

raised by Mr. Divan on behalf of Kadeshwari Society. He argued that the

notice dated 29.10.2021 was merely an invitation for objections to the

acquisition proposal, and the order dated 29.03.2022 was simply a

recommendation to the State. He further submitted that these orders, at

best, were a preliminary exercise for acquisition of the Subject Land and

therefore, it was premature for the High Court to have interfered when

no actual step causing prejudice to the Church Trust had been taken.

18. Although the contention appears to be attractive at first blush, it is liable

to fall flat when a deeper analysis is undertaken. We say so for the reason

that the High Court, in exercise of its plenary jurisdiction under Article

226 of the Constitution, can prevent or annul any executive overreach,

arbitrary decision-making process, action tainted with mala fides, or

colourable exercise of power. Where the solitary object of the notice and

order, namely, to acquire the Subject Land, has not been disputed by the

SRA, the High Court was justified to intervene at a preliminary stage. Not

doing so would have invited more complications on account of creation

of third-party rights by the private builder and consequential multiplicity

of litigation. Mere absence of any direct impact on the entitlement of the

Church Trust does not take away from the administrative nature of the

notice and the order or the jurisdiction of the High Court to consider their

validity.

Page 24 of 39

19. Moreover, the notice and the order are traceable to the statutory

framework of the Slums Act, especially in Section 14,21 and the same

having been issued in purported exercise of statutory power were

amenable to judicial review. Therefore, these actions must be taken

strictly in accordance with the legislative framework, and any challenge

that raises questions about the legality and integrity of such acts is

maintainable under Article 226. This preliminary objection raised by the

Appellants, thus, would fail. The appeals must, instead, be considered

on their merits.

E.2 Issue II: The Impact of the 2018 Amendment on the Slums Act

20. The learned Senior Counsels for the Appellants strenuously argued that,

as a consequence of the 2018 Amendment, there is no statutory

requirement to issue a separate notice for initiation of proceedings under

Section 13 of the Slums Act.22 The reason attributed to this inference

was that such a notice already stands effected on a landowner under

Section 3C, as a rule of audi alteram partem within the process of

notifying the land as an SR Area. It was thus elaborated that in view of

the changed legislative policy, the precondition of a separate notice under

Section 13 as outlined in Indian Cork Mills (supra) and upheld by this

Court in Tarabai (supra) would no longer be applicable. It was clarified

that the cited decisions pertain to the situation as it stood prior to the

2018 Amendment and are, thus, distinguishable.

21 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.4.

22 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

Page 25 of 39

21. In this regard, a pointed reference was also made to the phrase, ‘which

shall not be more than one hundred and twenty days’ in

Section 13,23 to buttress the submission that the onus has been shifted

onto the landowner to remain vigilant and submit the SR Scheme within

the stipulated period once the Section 3C(1) Declaration is issued.

22. On a bare perusal of the 2018 Amendment, it seems to us that no attempt

has been made to remove or dilute the preferential right of the landowner

to redevelop an SR Area. All those provisions which have been analysed

in Tarabai (supra) lead to only one conclusion, i.e., that the owner has

a primary right to undertake development, and none of the provisions

have been amended. Rather, the owner’s right is now further entrenched

into the legislative scheme, with the addition of the term ‘owner’ into the

text of Section 3B(5) and Section 13,24 along with the existing expressions

of ‘landholders’ and ‘occupants’. The Legislature has, thus, expressly

acknowledged the distinct rights enjoyed by the owner or a landlord

within Chapter I-A.

23. In order to address the Appellants’ contention, it is germane, firstly, to

observe that, under Chapter I-A, no occasion arises for any stakeholder

to develop an area unless it has been finally notified as an SR Area. In

other words, the Section 3C(1) Declaration is a stage prior to

redevelopment being initiated under Section 13.25 The issuance of a

23 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

24 Reproduced in Paragraphs 7.4 and 9.1.

25 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

Page 26 of 39 notice under Section 3C26 is meant to accord hearing to a landowner and

invite objections, if any, against declaration as an SR Area. By contrast,

this Court, in Tarabai (supra), has expressly held that the purpose of a

specific notice under Section 13 is to invite and enable the owner to

initiate redevelopment. Keeping in mind the fact that both the provisions

operate in different directions and for different purposes, what is deemed

to be mandated under Section 13 cannot be rendered moot by the

stipulations in Section 3C. With this view of the matter, the plea of the

Appellants that the new mechanism within Section 3C no longer

necessitates a separate notice-cum-invitation on the landowner cannot

be accepted.

24. Further, Tarabai (supra) outlines very cogent and critical reasons for

why the specific notice under Section 1327 is a mandatory requirement.

This Court, considering the practical realities of preparing an SR Scheme

as well as the potentially drastic consequences of not submitting the

same, held that it would not be feasible for the owner to file the scheme

without being invited to do so. The newly added qualification of 120 days

in Section 13 in no way impacts or has any relation to such an invitation

or the reasons behind its necessity. The incorporation of this condition

cannot lead to the conclusion that the notice-cum-invitation is no longer

required. Rather, the stipulated time-limit would come into effect after

the owner is notified and invited to redevelop the SR Area, whereupon

26 Reproduced in Paragraph 8.

27 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

Page 27 of 39 they must come forward within the time-ceiling. The claim of the

Appellants that the owner is expected to present an SR Scheme within

120 days of the Section 3C(1) Declaration without any notice-cum-

invitation is wholly misconceived and, thus, accordingly rejected.

25. On a conspectus of the 2018 Amendment and the perceived resultant

variation on the pre-amendment legislative policy, we are satisfied that

the holistic interpretation of the Slums Act made by this Court in

Tarabai (supra) is also squarely applicable on post-2018 Amendment

actions/events, barring the now legislatively stipulated timeline within

which a redevelopment scheme has to be submitted by an interested

landowner. It, then, goes without saying that SRA’s actions initiating the

acquisition in the instant case must also be tested against the same

principles, which we shall now proceed to assess in the following issue.

E.3 Issue III: Validity of Acquisition

26. This Court in Tarabai (supra) has unequivocally established that: (i) the

private owner of an SR Area has a preferential right to develop it; (ii) the

SRA must invite the landowner to come forward with a redevelopment

proposal and give them reasonable time to do so before the said

preferential right extinguishes; and (iii) the State or the SRA cannot move

to acquire the land before the preferential right of the owner is

extinguished. These principles will also apply mutatis mutandis to the

case in hand.

Page 28 of 39

27. Consequently, there vests a preferential right in favour of the Church

Trust, over and above the SRA, occupants, or other stakeholders, to

develop the Subject Land. The Trust ought to have been invited by the

SRA to submit a proposal and undertake such redevelopment after the

declaration dated 29.12.2020 was issued. Thus, the SRA cannot proceed

for acquisition of the Subject Land unless (i) such a notice-cum-

invitation is extended, and (ii) thereafter, the right of the Church Trust

is extinguished if it fails to submit a redevelopment scheme within the

prescribed period of 120 days.

28. The High Court has held that there was no compliance of these

preconditions by the SRA before initiating the acquisition, and the entire

process was liable to be invalidated. The High Court has further found

from the conduct of the Appellants that the acquisition proceedings

arose from an exercise of power in bad faith. We, therefore, now proceed

to examine whether the High Court was right in drawing such a

conclusion.

E.3.1 Prerequisites for Acquisition

29. At the cost of repetition, it may be reiterated that Mr. Divan advanced a

two-pronged submission. First, he contended that all statutory

requirements for initiating acquisition, particularly the issuance of notice

to the Church Trust, had been duly complied with. Second, he argued

that the Church Trust, by failing to proactively develop the Subject Land

or submit a proposal in the prescribed format under Regulation 33(10)

of the DCPR 2034, had effectively waived its preferential right. On this

Page 29 of 39 basis, he asserted that the acquisition proceedings were valid and did

not merit interference.

E.3.1.1 No Notice-cum-Invitation for Redevelopment

30. Regarding the first strand of these claims, we hasten to observe at the

very outset that there is no notice or invitation under Section 13 on the

record that was issued to the Church Trust.

31. The only communication relied upon by the Appellants is the Deputy

Collector, SRA forwarding the Section 3C(1) Declaration to the Church

Trust. We have already held that such notice does not amount to

compliance with the procedure contemplated under Section 13 of the

Slums Act.28

32. The inevitable consequence of the SRA’s omission to issue a separate

notice under Section 1329 is that the Church Trust’s preferential right to

redevelop the Subject Land remains intact. In the absence of a valid

notice or opportunity, there existed no legal basis to extinguish this right.

The acquisition was, therefore, vitiated in law, falling afoul of the

prescribed procedure.

E.3.1.2 No Waiver of Preferential Right

33. Having held so, we shall now consider whether the Church Trust has,

through its conduct, waived the preferential right to develop the Subject

Land. Since such right can extinguish only after the owner is invited for

28 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

29 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.1.

Page 30 of 39 redevelopment, the threshold for how such right may be waived, even

before an invitation is extended, is inevitably high. In our view, if there

is no clear and overt communication by the owner that it does not wish

to exercise its preferential right to develop the SR Area, there cannot be

an automatic waiver of the right.

34. The record demonstrates that the Church Trust has, since 2013,

consistently expressed its intent to redevelop the Subject Land. Following

the Section 3C(1) Declaration dated 29.12.2020, the Trust reiterated its

willingness to undertake redevelopment, including by submitting a

consolidated proposal to the SRA and BMC, which addressed both, the

slum dwellers’ entitlements and the utilisation of its remaining land.

During the pendency of the Writ Petition, it also appointed a developer

through a bidding process to implement its development plan. In these

circumstances, there is no basis to infer any waiver of its preferential

right.

35. Although some concerns were raised during the course of the hearing

regarding the permissibility of an amalgamated development, these

issues do not fall for adjudication in the instant appeals. As such, we

need not delve into the validity of the Church Trust’s proposal in terms

of the applicable Regulations. Suffice it to say that these contentions do

not undermine the Church Trust’s clear and consistent intent to

undertake the rehabilitation of the Subject Slum.

Page 31 of 39

36. Given the above findings in respect of the invitation to the Church Trust

and its persistent effort to redevelop the Subject Land, the prerequisites

of initiating an acquisition under Section 14,30 as laid out in Tarabai

(supra), have not been fulfilled. The High Court has thus made no error

in holding that the acquisition ought to be ex facie illegal.

E.3.2 Questionable Conduct of the Parties

37. We now turn to the second ground on which the High Court quashed the

acquisition. The High Court not only found the integrity and objectivity

of the acquisition process compromised but also cast suspicion on the

motives of the Appellants. Upon our own independent scrutiny of the

facts, we too are impelled to draw adverse inferences from the Appellants’

disconcerting conduct throughout the acquisition proceedings.

38. While the record reveals a concerted and motivated attempt by the

parties to acquire the Subject Land, we shall now proceed to examine, in

detail, the conduct of the private and official Appellants separately.

E.3.2.1 Conduct of Kadeshwari Society and Saldanha

39. The primary ground for doubting the bona fide of Kadeshwari Society lies

in its persistent resistance to the Church Trust’s efforts to redevelop the

Subject Slum. The Trust has overwhelmingly demonstrated that the

proposed redevelopment ensures all statutory entitlements to slum

dwellers, including allotment of units on the Subject Land itself. These

units exceed the minimum size mandated under Regulation 33(10) of the

30 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.4.

Page 32 of 39 DCPR 2034, with all other entitlements either matching or surpassing

the regulatory requirements.

40. Despite the Church Trust’s proposal offering significantly better benefits,

Kadeshwari Society has persisted in pursuing redevelopment exclusively

through Saldanha. This choice inevitably disadvantages the slum

dwellers, who stand to receive smaller units and reduced benefits.

Meanwhile, Saldanha gains the opportunity to commercially exploit the

Subject Land, acquired at a fraction of its market value, in one of

Mumbai’s most land-constrained areas. This stark divergence between

the welfare of slum dwellers and the Society’s perplexing allegiance to

Saldanha compels us to conclude that Saldanha is, in effect,

orchestrating the Society’s actions from behind the scenes.

41. Saldanha’s actions suggest a calculated attempt to wrest the Subject

Land from the Church Trust, along with over 380 sq. m. of adjoining

BMC land, by exploiting the markedly low acquisition rates for

commercial gain. This intent surfaces as early as its proposal to privately

purchase the land from the Church Trust. While seemingly a bona-fide

negotiation, the text of the correspondence reveals a veiled threat aimed

at pressuring the Trust into relinquishing its property. This is

particularly evident in Saldanha’s letter dated 03.04.2018, addressed to

Bishop John Rodrigues, the relevant portion of which is reproduced

hereafter:

“ [xxxx] As you are already aware, the Pawar Chawl has been in existence since 1935 and the members are in possession and occupation of this

Page 33 of 39 portion of land admeasuring approximately 1590 sq.mtrs of which 1532 sq.mtrs has been declared as slum. The members of Pawar Chawl have been paying the municipal taxes and water bills since inception and are in a position to make a claim that they are in adverse possession of the land or even approach the CEO, SRA to acquire this portion of land declared slum and occupied by them under the SRA rules and regulations with regard to acquisition as per the legal advice given to them. If implemented, it would take a maximum time of three months to acquire or claim adverse possession as the structures of the slum are in a total dilapidated condition.

Owing to the above, I request you to take a quick decision to execute the matters in this regard and to grant us the conveyance/perpetual lease in our favour.

We have already entered into a development agreement with Shree Kadeshwari Society (Proposed) for the redevelopment of their slum occupying B/960 (pt) under SRA Scheme 33(10) and awaiting your response so that we are able to execute go ahead with the project. We will obtain all necessary permissions including that of the Charity Commissioner if at all necessary. In case of any further queries, we will be happy to discuss to take things further. We do hope you will consider our offer favorably, assuring you of our best services at all times.

[xxxx] ” [Sic] [Emphasis supplied]

42. Subsequently, upon realising that the Church Trust was unwilling to

part with the Subject Land, Saldanha initiated a driven attempt to usurp

it through the machinery of the SRA. Acting through Kadeshwari Society

as its proxy, it sought to effectuate what can only be described as a land

grab—one that aligns squarely with the tenor of its earlier coercive

communication. At every stage of the Section 3C(1) Declaration and the

ensuing acquisition proceedings, the pattern of conduct exhibited by

both Saldanha and Kadeshwari Society points unmistakably to the

former calling the shots, while safely being in the shadows.

43. Such pervasive influence inevitably corrupts any action taken by

Kadeshwari Society as well as Saldanha and calls upon us to impute

Page 34 of 39 patently dishonest intent on their conjoined attempt to take over

development of the Subject Land.

E.3.2.2 SRA’s Conduct

44. Considering the other side of the coin, we find the manner in which the

SRA and its functionaries have approached this case is even more

shocking. The record reveals a dire lack of application of mind or any

objective and coherent reasoning in the decisions of the SRA.

45. Despite the judgement of the High Court in Indian Cork Mills (supra)

continuing to hold the field, the SRA’s actions expose its attempts to

thwart any possibility of the Church Trust exercising its preferential

right.

46. First, after the Subject Land was declared as an SR Area on 29.12.2020,

the SRA never issued any specific notice to the Church Trust. It blatantly

chose to shrug off its duty to invite the owner to come forward with a

scheme for redevelopment. Instead, the SRA merely forwarded the

Section 3C(1) Declaration to the Trust, trying to create an impression

that it was completing all requisite processes, while not actually fulfilling

the basic requirement of specific notice.

47. Second, the SRA paid no heed to the Church Trust’s attempts for a

consolidated redevelopment. When the Trust’s proposal was forwarded

on 04.05.2021, the SRA made no attempt to act on it. Instead, while it

remained pending, the SRA proceeded to process and favourably

consider Saldanha’s proposal, including advancing the acquisition

Page 35 of 39 process. Although the SRA conducted a hearing for the Church Trust, it

turned down the Trust’s proposal during the intervening period between

two acquisition hearing dates on the flimsy ground that it was not

submitted in the prescribed format or to the designated Head Clerk,

Engineering. Importantly, no attempt was made by the SRA to allow the

Church Trust to rectify the purported deficiencies in its proposal.

Instead, a mere general rejection of the proposal was conveyed.

48. Finally, the SRA did not consider that the Section 3C(1) Declaration

dated 29.12.2020 was itself under challenge in Application No. 20 of

2021 before the AGRC. By going on appeal, the Church Trust has

challenged the very status of the Subject Land as an SR Area. Such

status is a sine qua non for acquisition under Section 14.31 Given the

irreversible consequences and third-party interests created by it, the SRA

ought not to have gone ahead with the proposal for acquisition till the

very foundation of the acquisition was confirmed in the statutory appeal.

Nevertheless, for some inexplicable reason and with a sense of

uncharacteristic urgency, which again speaks to the invisible but

pervading influence of the powerful private developer, the SRA has

forsaken the basic tenets of equity and recommended the acquisition.

49. Throughout this case, the SRA and its CEO appear to have abandoned

their public duty to uphold the Rule of Law and protect the rights of the

landowner. On the contrary, the facts reveal a prejudiced attempt by the

31 Reproduced in Paragraph 9.4.

Page 36 of 39 SRA to undermine legislative and judicial efforts and hand over the

Subject Land and the benefits of its rehabilitation to Saldanha. Such

actions of a public authority, marred by collusion and connivance and

motivated by extraneous profit interests of private builders, are highly

depreciable and underline the possibility of bureaucratic misuse of

statutory provisions.

50. The facts of the instant case compel us to infer that Saldanha’s

overreaching influence went beyond the slum-dwellers’ proposed society.

In its attempt to take over the Subject Land, the developer appears to

have gotten the typically slow-moving bureaucratic wheels of the SRA to

run at full speed. Moreover, Saldanha was able to achieve this

manoeuvre at a time when the entire country was under lockdown and

the machinery of governance was overwhelmed by the unprecedented

challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

51. These circumstances underpin the need for practical and actionable

safeguards in a legal system involving competing interests among private

parties. The Slums Act, while providing wholesome protection to slum

dwellers and their homes and livelihood, does not give such express

protection to the interests of the owner of the land. The ensuing vacuum,

as we have seen in these appeals, allows opportunistic developers to

swoop in, exploit the circumstances of the poor slum dwellers,

manipulate the hand-in-glove authorities, and enrich themselves off the

helpless owner’s land.

Page 37 of 39

52. Keeping the facts of this case and the obviously colourable conduct of

the Appellants in mind, the acquisition proceedings cannot be allowed to

sustain. As such, the High Court has rightly nipped these proceedings in

the bud, protecting the statutory rights and interests of the Church Trust

over the Subject Land and preventing the Appellants from illegally

grabbing it.

F. CONCLUSION AND DIRECTIONS

53. For the reasons set out above, the instant appeals are dismissed. The

following conclusions and directions are accordingly issued:

i. The Impugned Judgement of the High Court stands upheld;

ii. Liberty is granted to the Church Trust to submit, within a period of

120 days, an SR Scheme for the redevelopment of the Subject Slum,

strictly in accordance with laws and regulations in force;

iii. The Church Trust shall be bound by the offer of the size of the

apartments as well as other benefits and entitlements already made

by it to the slum dwellers;

iv. The SRA shall offer full support to the Church Trust for surveys,

demarcation, etc., as per the applicable Regulations, to enable it to

submit an SR Scheme; and

v. The SRA and the State shall process the Church Trust’s proposal as

expeditiously as possible within the prescribed procedure, within a

period of 60 days from the date of the Trust’s submission.

Page 38 of 39

54. All the matters and pending interlocutory applications, if any, stand

disposed of in the aforementioned terms and directions.

55. Ordered accordingly.

.................…….........J. (SURYA KANT)

.................…….........J. (UJJAL BHUYAN)

NEW DELHI;

AUGUST 22, 2025

Page 39 of 39