Bombay HC constitutes special bench to audit Maharashtra Slum Areas Act

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday constituted a special bench presided by justice GS Kulkarni to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance & Redevelopment) Act, 1971.
The decision was taken after the Supreme Court, in a July 31 order, asked the high court to conduct such a review “to ensure that a law is working out in practice as it was intended. If not, understand the reason and address it quickly”.
The division bench of justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar pointed out that 1,612 cases under the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act are still pending before the Bombay high court, out of which 135 are more than 10 years old.
Some of the major concerns regarding the Act that the Supreme Court directed the Bombay high court to investigate include the process of identifying and declaring land as a slum, identifying slum dwellers, selecting a developer, and the obligation to provide temporary accommodation for slum dwellers during redevelopment.
The apex court also said a judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution (power of high courts to issue certain writs) cannot be a long-term solution to seek remedy under the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act.
The Supreme Court was hearing a case between Harihar Krupa Co-operative Housing Society in Borivali and Yash Developers. The controversy began in 2003 when the housing society appointed the builder to develop the land on which its hutments stood after it was declared a “slum area”. However, the Maharashtra government’s Apex Grievance Redressal Committee terminated the agreement since the development had been unduly prolonged for over two decades.
The developer challenged the termination order before the Bombay high court in a writ petition. The Supreme Court was determining an appeal of the high court where, due to the limited scope of judicial review available to a high court under Article 226 of the Constitution, it dismissed the writ.
Emphasising the role of the judiciary as a facilitator of access to justice and effective functioning of constitutional bodies, the Supreme Court stated, “In this role, the judiciary does not review executive and legislative actions, but only nudges and provides impetus to systemic reforms.”
The special high court bench will commence hearing the matter on August 16.