Supreme Court stays Adarsh Housing Society demolition for now

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court stayed the demolition of the controversial Adarsh Housing Society building in Mumbai and asked the defence authorities to take possession of the property while it decides whether the construction was carried out in violation of green laws and in connivance with politicians and bureaucrats.

The Bombay HC had on April 29 directed that the 31-storey building be demolished. The society and residents challenged the ruling in the top court, which asked the government on Friday not to demolish the structure.

Bureaucrats, politicians and their relatives are alleged to have been allotted flats in the building in exchange for facilitating approvals for the project, which came up on land meant for housing heroes and widows of those who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil war. The CBI is probing the involvement of officials and politicians in the matter, which led Ashok Chavan to resign as Maharashtra chief minister in 2010.

Charge sheets have been filed against some individuals, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told a bench comprising Justices Jasti Chelameswar and Abhay Manohar Sapre at the hearing on Friday. He urged the court to hand over the land and the building to the defence authorities, who had first flagged security concerns over construction of the building near military installations.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests later claimed that the building was constructed without the necessary green clearances.