Dismissing a petition accusing the government of illegally “doling out” permissions, the High Court on Monday said the permission granted to a company to build a drive-in theatre along with certain amenities at Bandra Kurla Complex was not processed with undue haste. Advertising A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar, while disposing of the petition, said, “This court finds no material to even prima facie entertain suspicion that the permission was processed with undue haste.” The petitioner, Abha Singh, also a lawyer, was challenging the permission granted by the revenue authorities to India Film Combine Pvt Ltd, a company to redevelop a leased tract of land for diverse commercial purposes with the objective of building and operating a drive-in theatre. Advocate Aditya Pratap for the petitioner argued that the company sought such concessions through an application to the then chief minister and these permissions were doled out in haste. A government notification was published on March 10, 1992, permitting the redevelopment of cinema theatres. On December 5, 2001, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) issued the first commencement certificate following which a premium of Rs 38.82 crore was recovered from the company for utilising approximately 50 per cent FSI for other commercial purposes. Pratap argued that permission granted by the authorities to substantially widen the scope of the use of the land was arbitrary, fraught with illegality and impelled by extraneous considerations.

Stay updated with all the Mumbai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.