Supreme Court Directs 'Forceful Eviction' of Tenants from NTC Mumbai property

Supreme Court Directs 'Forceful Eviction' of Tenants from NTC Mumbai property

Three tenants at Jam Mill in Lalbaug were evicted by the officials of the National Textile Corporation (NTC), Mumbai, – the owner of the land, after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the central government-owned entity to "take forcible possession with the help of police force"

The SC passed the order after NTC had filed a contempt petition for non-compliance of an older order of the Court in which it was directed that the shop owners had to comply with the eviction notice sent in 2000 by NTC.

There are twenty-three shops at Jam Mill, which were issued eviction notices under the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 (Act) by NTC. The notice stated that they have illegally occupied the premises. Four shopkeepers approached the SC and the case pertaining to nineteen other shops is pending in the High Court of Bombay.

The shopkeeper fought a long battle in the lower Courts however they failed to get a favorable judgment and hence appealed to the SC and the Top Court ruled in 2007 in favor of NTC. The tenants were given time till March 2018 by the SC to vacate the premises, failing which they would be held in contempt of the Court.

On 9 January 2021, the tenants filed a curative petition in the SC. The NTC filed a contempt petition against the tenants and the Court ruled in favor of the NTC. Non-bailable warrants were also issued by the SC for the tenants to remain present in Court.

The shopkeeper alleged that they were the original tenants of the previous property, which was taken over by the Centre in 1983. It was also alleged that the building has shops on the ground floor and they have residents on the top floor. The shopkeepers produced license agreements made with the previous landowners in 1939.

Amit Mehta, whose family owns one of the three shops, evicted said, "We've been the tenants in this property for over 80 years. After NTC took over it in 1983, they increased the rent exponentially, thrice. In 2000, they increased the rent to Rs.13,500 per month. We tried to negotiate with them, but were issued an eviction notice. This shop is our livelihood, which is being taken away from us."

Advocate Nimesh Mehta, represented the Jam Mill tenants in the SC, submitted, "These are the original tenants of the property, and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 [PP(E) Act] does not apply to original tenants, as per the guidelines issued by the Centre in a gazette in 2002, and the state's government resolutions (GRs)."

The gazette document provided by Advocate Mehta stated, "The provision of PP(E) Act, should not be resorted to either with commercial motive or to secure vacant possession of the premises in order to accommodate their own employees, where premises were in occupation of the original tenants to whom the premises were let either by the public authorities or the persons from whom the premises were acquired."

The legal manager of the NTC, Mr. Saurabh Tiwari, was also present at the site and stated that he was not authorized to comment on the matter. He said that NTC's public relations officer Mr. Arun Dange was unavailable for comment.

Advocate Mehta said that the recent order of the SC will pave the way for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to evict their tenants on the basis of the provisions of the PP(E) Act. He further added, "The PP(E) Act is draconian. In Mumbai city, there are 12 lakh tenants on public sector undertakings, whose fate rests in balance."

The Senior Advocate Prasad Dhakephalkar opined that the SC's order will have no adverse impact and it shall be applicable on a case-by-case basis. He added "This will depend on the facts of each case. There are instances where the PP(E) Act will apply to tenants and it shall depend upon facts of each case."