Cross demolition: Catholic group files writ in HC

Following the demolition of a 100-year-old cross by the BMC that resulted in protests by the Christian community, the Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS) filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court on May 18.

Among the prayers before the court, the community asked that the cross on D'Monte Street in Bandra be restored as it stood tall on private property.

"There were notices issued by the BMC on crosses, six of them in H/West ward and one in K/West ward. We are asking the court to stay the notices. We have challenged the GR of May 5, 2011 that deals with categorisation only in the case of illegal structures prior to 2009. We feel that these crosses were stationed prior to datum line," said Godfrey Pimenta, a member of the community. Datum line prescribes the cut-off date for commercial and residential structures in Mumbai.

The other prayers before the court included a request to direct the civic body to place all documents that prove the legality of all city crosses before the court, as well as records ascertaining the legality of action taken, in addition to a request for the civic body to not demolish any of the other crosses till the matter is decided.