Mumbai: Bombay HC, in an interim order, protected 13 commercial tenants—all shops—challenging eviction orders passed in 2008 by National Textile Corporation’s (NTC) Jam Manufacturing Mills at Lalbaug under provisions of Public Premises Act.Justice MM Sathaye gave the interim relief on June 10 in an “ad hoc arrangement’’ by directing them to pay Rs 10,000 per month from Sept 2012 till the end of June this year to prevent their eviction, while posting the matter to Aug 5 for further hearing.The petitioners, including a restaurant, had petitioned HC in 2008 to challenge their eviction in a common judgment passed that July by the city civil court. They questioned the validity of various eviction orders passed by the estate officer of NTC, a central govt undertaking, under Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. Their petition has been pending since 2008 and has not been admitted yet by HC.The Public Sector Tenant Action Committee, of which the tenants are members, have filed a fresh plea before Supreme Court to constitute a larger bench for reconsideration of the legal issue involved, their lawyer Nimesh Mehta submitted before HC. He asked HC to defer the hearing and grant interim protection till the top court decides the important law point. Public Premises Act governs and affects thousands of tenants in Mumbai who occupy buildings owned by public sector undertakings, including banks and insurance companies in prime areas across south Mumbai.Advocate Bhushan Joshi, for the mill, argued that SC had earlier this year settled the issue and held that Public Premises Act would prevail over the more protective State Rent Act.The court noted that seven other tenants had separately challenged the 2008 eviction order and that HC had in Aug 2012 dismissed their plea. Against that dismissal, the seven tenants had gone to SC, which in Aug 2016, protected them by directing them to pay a monthly compensation of Rs 10,000 per shop to NTC from Aug 2012. SC had considered the rental value prevalent then. However in 2017, SC declined to interfere with the HC order and upheld the eviction, directing them to continue to pay Rs 10,000 till the premises are vacated.Joshi said although NTC volunteered in 2008 to maintain the status quo, HC has not stayed, by any order, the eviction and the petition’s pendency is causing “serious prejudice’’ to the mill.Mehta said the petitioners were ready to pay the same amount to NTC as directed by SC in the other petition, but from Sept 2012. NTC said the payment ought to be from July 2008—the date of the eviction order.HC said, “Since the petitions are pending, in order to avoid prejudice to either party, for the time being, I am not discussing anything about market rate or interim compensation or rent fetching potential of shops involved or their areas. It directed Rs 10,000 per month to be paid from 2012 in eight weeks after Mehta said that the plea before SC would be mentioned by July-end.HC directed the status quo volunteered by NTC will continue for only eight more weeks and its further continuation will be subject to payments as directed.
