New Delhi:
The residents of the Campa Cola Society in Mumbai will have to vacate their apartments by the end of May, the Supreme Court ruled today.
The nearly-100 flats have been declared an illegal construction; in November, just as bulldozers from the city corporation arrived to begin demolishing them, the Supreme Court intervened, stating that occupants would be able to live in the high-rise in South Mumbai till May 31.
The residents have today lost an appeal for an extension.
They say they were duped by the builders. After their flats were found illegal in 2002 by city officials, they have tried to get courts and politicians to regularize their flats.
They had also asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to bring an ordinance - or an executive order - to save the homes.
Politicians from all parties have lent their voice to the emotive battle playing out in south Mumbai ahead of the election this year.
Seven high-rises were constructed at what is called the Campa Cola Compound, between 1981 and 1989. The builders had permission for only five floors, but constructed several more. One of the buildings, Midtown, has 20 floors. Another building, Orchid, has 17.
The residents have been fighting a legal battle since 1999, when they first went to the Bombay High Court for water supply and regularisation. The court asked city officials to investigate, and the municipal corporation then served demolition notices for all flats constructed above the fifth floor, which it said were illegal.