A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata passed the order (File)
The Bombay High Court has directed all planning and local authorities to abstain from the demolition of any structure during the "Diwali period" and "until November 20-21".
A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata passed the order on Wednesday while hearing a petition filed by a retired Indian Navy officer challenging a notice issued to him for the demolition of his farmhouse in Pune.
"As a general directive, we would request all Planning and Local Authorities to stay their hands on demolitions during the Diwali period and certainly until 20th/21st November 2023. There are intervening public holidays between 12th November 2023 (Diwali) and 15th November 2023 (Bhaubeej)," the bench directed.
Commander Baldevsingh Bhagwansingh Bhatti (retired) had challenged an October 31 notice issued to him by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) ordering the demolition of his farmhouse structure at Kurvande village in Mawal.
Senior advocate Anil Singh, appearing for Bhatti, told the court the structure has been in existence since 1996 and whether or not it had sufficient permission needs to be examined.
The bench noted it did not see any urgency in removing the structure and granted an interim injunction on demolition till December 1.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)