MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to intervene in the eviction of 25 residents of unauthorised tenements occupying railway land at Dhobi Ghat in Malad (East), holding that the authorities had followed due process and that the petitioners were not entitled to the rehabilitation benefits they were claiming.
A division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri also noted that the railway authorities are equally responsible for the situation and are, therefore, liable to provide support to the affected residents by helping them find alternative residential accommodation.
The case stems from a batch of petitions filed by the residents of tenements located near Dhobi Ghat on Haji Bapu Road in Malad (East) on land belonging to Western Railway. A total of 25 petitioners, who moved the high court earlier this year, claimed that their families have been residing there since 1980 and are, therefore, eligible for Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) benefits.
According to the plea, the estate officer and senior divisional engineer of Western Railway issued notices to the petitioners in August 2022, directing them to remove their unauthorised tenements erected on railway land. Relying on a Government Resolution (GR) dated December 2000, the residents submitted their response in October 2023, contending that they were entitled to rehabilitation and qualified as “Project Affected Persons” (PAPs) under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP).
However, the estate officer issued an order in January 2025, directing the residents to vacate the land within 15 days or face eviction, the petition said. The residents first challenged the order before a civil court, but their appeals were dismissed in May 2025. This prompted them to approach the high court, seeking to quash the eviction order.
The high court, however, upheld the eviction order, observing that the petitioners had failed to produce any documents before the estate officer to demonstrate that their structures are authorised, protected, or affected by the MUTP. The petitioners had also failed to demonstrate that they were entitled to benefits under the GR or qualified for rehabilitation under the PAP eligibility criteria, the bench added.
Ruling that the structures erected on railway land are unauthorised, the court said that the authorities had acted in accordance with due process of law. However, the bench also observed that the railway authorities are equally responsible for the situation and are, therefore, liable to provide some support to the people who would be affected by the eviction.
The court directed the petitioners to vacate the premises within 60 days, stating that their eligibility should be considered for suitable residential accommodation after the eviction. It clarified that alternative residential accommodation cannot be allotted at the same place from which they have been evicted. It added that the railway authorities are empowered to initiate civil or criminal action against the unauthorised occupants in the future, if required.
