‘Illegal’ merger of flats: Kangana to seek regularisation from BMC

PTI, Feb 10, 2021, 1:47 PM IST

Mumbai: Actor Kangana Ranaut told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that she would file regularisation application before the Mumbai civic body in connection with alleged irregularities at her residential flats in suburban Khar.

Ranaut’s counsel Birendra Saraf sought to withdraw the appeal filed by the actor against a civil court’s December 2020 order dismissing her suit challenging notices issued by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for illegally merging three flats in a suburban building.

Justice Prithviraj Chavan permitted Ranaut to withdraw the appeal and said no coercive action shall be taken by the civic body until the application for regularisation is heard and decided, and for two weeks thereafter.

”The appellant (Ranaut) is permitted to apply for regularisation before the MCGM within a period of four weeks,” Justice Chavan said.

The corporation shall decide the same expeditiously and in accordance with the law, the court said.

”In case of any adverse order against the appellant, no coercive action shall be taken thereafter by the BMC toenable the appellant to file appeal,” the court said.

The MCGM is also known as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The city civic body in March 2018 had issued a notice to Ranaut for alleged illegal merger of three flats owned byher in Orchid Breeze building in suburban Khar.

The Dindoshi civil court dismissed her suit againstthe notice in December last year, following which she movedthe high court.

The civil court, while dismissing the suit, had noted there was a ”grave violation of the sanctioned plan” while amalgamating the three flats.

Ranaut’s petition said since she bought the flats in2013, she had not made any structural changes.

She had carried out only ”certain cosmetic changes”,said the appeal filed through advocates Aseem Naphade, MonishaBhangale, and Prasanna Bhangale.

Last year, the civic body had initiated the demolition of alleged unauthorised construction at Ranaut’s bungalow in the Pali Hill area here.

The HC later held the municipal corporation’s action as illegal and malicious.