On Friday, February 5, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood withdrew from the Supreme Court the plea against the Bombay High Court order dismissing his case on alleged illegal construction at his residential building in Mumbai’s Juhu area.
The apex court, which permitted the withdrawal of the petition, orally observed that no coercive action be taken against Sood until the civic authorities decide on his application for regularisation.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde, Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian was informed by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, counsel for Sood, that he would withdraw the plea from the top court and seek a decision on his application for regularisation of alleged illegal construction from the civic body.
Earlier, the high court had dismissed the actor’s appeal against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) notice to him over alleged illegal construction at his residential building at Juhu.
At the outset, Rohatgi said he has advised the actor to withdraw the plea and would rather seek the liberty that BMC decide his plea for regularisation.
Responding to this, the bench in the proceedings conducted through video conferencing lauded Rohatgi for this advice and said, “That is good advice Mr. Rohatgi. This is absolutely correct advice which does not happen very often. The Authorities to decide the application according to law.”
Sood, who was in the limelight for helping migrants reach their homes during the lockdown last year, had stated in his plea that his application for conversion has been approved by the Municipal Commissioner subject to Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) permission.
The High Court, while dismissing the actor’s appeal and application, said, ‘Law helps only those who are diligent.’
Sood’s lawyer had sought a time of 10 weeks to comply with the notice issued by the BMC in October last year, and requested the high court to direct the civic body to not initiate demolition action.
The high court, however, refused and said the actor had ample opportunity in the past and if required, he could approach the civic body.
Sood had approached the high court earlier this month challenging an order of a city civil court at Dindoshi that had dismissed his suit against the BMC’s notice issued over the alleged illegal construction carried out by him.
The actor, in the interim application in the high court, had sought an order from the high court restraining the BMC from taking any coercive action against his residential property in Juhu area.
As per the BMC, the Bollywood actor had carried out structural changes in the six-storey residential building “Shakti Sagar”, and allegedly converted it into a hotel without taking requisite permissions.
The BMC earlier this month also filed a complaint at the Juhu police station, seeking an FIR to be lodged against Sood for allegedly converting the residential building into a hotel without permission.
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