Summary: Three people in Mumbai wanted bigger business spaces than what they were given under a plan to fix up slum areas. The court decided they could have smaller spaces but said no to their request for bigger ones.
In 2025, three people, Kalawati Bhimrao Thorat, Pushpa Harikant Bhatt, and Narmada Sampatrao Deshmukh, filed requests against the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. They wanted bigger business spaces in the redevelopment of Government Colony in Bandra, Mumbai.
The petitioners argued they were not slum dwellers but renters with rights to bigger spaces. They had been using these spaces for many years:
They wanted spaces equal to what they had before the buildings were torn down, not the 225 sq.ft. offered under the plan to fix up slum areas.
Judges Involved: N.J. Jamadar and Sandeep V. Marne
The court decided on January 9, 2026, that the petitioners could be helped under the slum scheme but not with bigger spaces. They were seen as people staying there without permission after their rental agreements ended, and their expansions were not allowed.
"Petitioners have secured themselves some benefits of rehabilitation as a part of slum scheme."
The government argued the petitioners had no right to the bigger spaces as their rental agreements had ended long ago. They were being treated fairly under the plan to fix up slum areas.
The court dismissed the requests, saying there was no rule to give bigger spaces to former renters. However, it suggested that if others in Bandra were given similar accommodations, the authorities might consider the petitioners' cases.
"If similarly-circumstanced occupants have been allotted alternate accommodation in Bandra area, the Authorities may consider the case of the petitioners."
