Mumbai, The Bombay High Court has declined to halt the redevelopment of the controversial Pratibha Tower in Breach Candy, marking a major relief for the Saidale Cooperative Housing Society (formerly Pratibha CHS) after nearly four decades of legal battles.
The 36-storey building, whose construction began in 1984, gained notoriety as one of Mumbai’s earliest Floor Space Index (FSI) scam cases. Investigations found that the original developer had inflated the plot area to obtain additional FSI, resulting in unauthorised construction. Following this revelation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished the top eight floors of the tower in 1989.
In the recent order, Justice Sandeep Marne dismissed an appeal seeking an interim stay filed by a minority member of the society. The court observed that the redevelopment had been approved by the majority of members and that delaying the project any further would be “imprudent,” given that residents have been waiting for almost forty years.
The verdict is seen as a significant step forward in resolving one of Mumbai’s longest-running housing disputes and may pave the way for similar stalled redevelopment projects across the city.
