Quick Summary: The Bombay High Court has changed a lower court's decision, allowing Sunil Narayan Patil and others to temporarily stop new developers from working on a piece of land. This case is about a land disagreement in Ulwe, Panvel, with deals going back to 2010 and 2013. The court's decision shows how complicated land deals and legal agreements can be.
The case involves a group of people working together in a business called Anita Developers, which included Sunil Narayan Patil and others. The disagreement is about a piece of land in Ulwe, Panvel, Raigad District. Back in 2007, CIDCO was open to giving this land to the original landowners, Pundalik B. Gharat (who has passed away) through his family members, Jankubai P. Gharat (also passed away) and others.
On February 10, 2010, Pundalik B. Gharat's family members agreed to sell the land to two other parties for Rs.2.25 crores. Later, on February 26, 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between these parties and Sunil Narayan Patil and others, who paid Rs.1.62 crores. From 2013 to 2020, Sunil Narayan Patil and others continued to pay a total of Rs.3.12 crores.
Sunil Narayan Patil and others filed a lawsuit in 2024 asking for the agreements to be honored. However, the trial court turned down their request to temporarily stop the new developers from working on the land. This led to an appeal in the Bombay High Court.
Mr. Patil, representing Sunil Narayan Patil and others, argued that the payments made to Pundalik B. Gharat's family members were significant and proven through bank statements. He claimed that the agreements gave Sunil Narayan Patil and others the right to have the deal completed.
On the other side, Mr. Anturkar, representing the new developers, argued that the agreements were uncertain and not valid because the land was not officially given at the time. He claimed that Sunil Narayan Patil and others had no legal right to the land.
Justice Milind N. Jadhav found that Sunil Narayan Patil and others had indeed made significant payments and had a strong initial case. The court noted that Pundalik B. Gharat's family members had received payments over the years and did not deny them. The judge ruled that Sunil Narayan Patil and others were entitled to temporarily stop the new developers from working on the land.
"The impugned order is unsustainable in the eyes of law and deserves to be quashed and set aside."
The court decided that Sunil Narayan Patil and others have the right to stop the new developers from working on the land until the lawsuit is settled. This means the new developers cannot do anything with the land for now.
