With just a few hours left to vacate their homes, the residents of Campa Cola Compound are hoping for a miracle. Most of them are hopeful that chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will save their homes by coming out with an ordinance or will ask the civic body to delay its action.
“In the Supreme Court order, nowhere it is mentioned that the demolition should begin on November 12. We don’t understand why the civic body is in a hurry to initiate action,” said Nandini Mehta, a resident.
The residents have found support in legal opinions of retired justice BN Srikrishna of Supreme Court and retired justice VG Palshikar of Bombay high court. The retired justices say the CM has the power to pass an ordinance in spite of the Supreme Court order. The residents have submitted the opinions to Chavan. The CM had said he was exploring all legal options and asked the residents to help him get legal opinions from senior counsels.
Interpreting the law
BN Srikrishna’s opinion
“Maharashtra, as a welfare state, is obliged to act to alleviate the misery of innocent middle-class purchasers who put their life’s savings in flats and become victims of frauds of builders with active connivance of municipal authorities.
“If the state of Maharashtra decides to bring in a law to set up a mechanism which would help poor, innocent, middle-class victims of such frauds by builders, then I am of the opinion that the state is fully enabled to do so, not withstanding the decision of the judgment of the Supreme Court.”
VG Palshikar’s opinion
“The state government has the power to issue an ordinance for regularisation of unauthorised buildings to protect the rights of citizens. As will be seen in this case, the flats owners were and are bona fide purchasers of the flat.
“The concept of precedent is by and large related to exercise of judicial power and is established to see that there is consistency in the matter of rendering judicial pronouncement and therefore, a precedent cannot be ignored. But such cannot be the case of exercising the sovereign legislative power conferred by article 348. I am firmly of the opinion that the stat government can issue an ordinance to protect rights of the residents of the Campa Cola Compound residents.”
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