The Bombay High Court ordered the demolition of Adarsh Housing Society in April this year
Acting on Supreme Court's directive, the army today took possession of the controversial Adarsh Society building in Colaba area of South Mumbai.
"The physical possession of the 31-story building is with the army now," defence spokesperson Commander Rahul Sinha told PTI this evening.
"There are few minor modalities which are being worked out and we hope that this would be completed in the next two days, but guards put by the society and other people attached with it have been moved out," he said.
When asked about those who were already living there, Mr Sinha said, "Since the building was not given the occupation certificate, it was unoccupied."
Registrar of Bombay High Court was overseeing the process of taking over the possession, he said.
A team of defence personnels commenced the process of officially taking possession from the Adarsh Housing Society yesterday.
On July 22, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to "secure" the building by August 5. It had asked the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court to supervise the process.
Earlier, the high court ordered demolition of the building and sought initiation of criminal proceedings against politicians and bureaucrats for misuse of powers, holding that the building, originally meant for widows and kin of Kargil war martyrs, was illegally constructed. The respondents then moved the Supreme Court for stay.
The high court had also asked the Centre and Maharashtra government to consider initiating civil and criminal proceedings against bureaucrats, ministers and politicians who played role in its illegal construction and obtained flats in it.
The scandal, which surfaced in 2010, had led to the resignation of the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.