In a relief to a Colaba-based school for special children, the Bombay high court (HC) has directed the army estate officer to consider afresh an eviction order issued by him on November 20 to the institute. The order had asked the school to vacate the premise on the grounds that the land belonged to the Indian Army.
A division bench of justice Nitin Jamdar and justice Milind Jadhav, while hearing the petition filed by Able Disabled All People Together (ADAPT), earlier known as the Spastics Society of India, was informed by advocate Sunip Sen and Shrubo Dey that the estate officer had issued a show-cause notice on July 20 and an eviction order, passed under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, was sent four months later. The order asked the school, founded Padma Shri awardee Mithu Alur, to vacate the premise within 15 days.
The petition has stated that the school was a tenant of the adjoining Afghan Church since 1972 and could thus not be called a ‘public premise.’ Therefore, the estate officer was not competent to pass such an eviction order, said the petitioner.
The petition further states that the special school provided counselling, inclusive education, skills training to more than 3,000 special children and 10,000 families cutting across economic backgrounds, and it had been paying rent to the Bombay Diocesan Trust, which has been looking after Afghan Church since the early 1970s.
It said that a similar eviction notice was issued in 2007, which was later stayed by the Centre. The advocates also submitted that a query of the school on the propriety of the estate officer to pass the order did not get a response.
In response to the petition, the Centre submitted that the petitioner could appeal against the estate officer’s order, which was opposed on the grounds that the alternate remedy was not required, as the initial order was without jurisdiction.
After hearing the submissions, the bench noted that as the query of the school on the propriety of the estate officer was not reflected in the November 20 order passed by him, it should be considered a ‘prima facie opinion.’
After the court’s insistence, the Centre and the estate officer said that a fresh order would be passed.
The Court then asked the school to file its reply to the show-cause notice within two weeks ‘without prejudice to their rights and contentions regarding the issue of jurisdiction’. The bench also allowed the petitioner to make representation for inspection of the documents related to the premise before the authority as per the law.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bombay-hc-relief-for-colaba-special-school-against-eviction-order/story-ZfvGg1g6FUKgxLLetbFYdM.html