02-07-2025
Bombay HC dismisses petition against demolition of century-old building housing Jimmy Boy
Mumbai: Bombay high court on Wednesday dismissed a petition by occupants of a dilapidated building in Fort challenging BMC notices to immediately vacate and pull down the structure.
The building housed the iconic Parsi restaurant Jimmy Boy.
"Today the situation is of fait accompli. It has gone completely out of hand… It is not new to the municipal jurisprudence that ruinous dilapidated buildings were required to be demolished/removed. The present building cannot be an exception," said Justice Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor.
The petition was by Vikas Premises Co-op Housing Society - the owner of the 129-year-old ground plus four-storeyed building with 37 members, all of which are commercial/offices - to quash and set aside BMC's notices against the building and restore electricity and water.
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The judges noted that a June 2024 structural audit report showed there were corrosion cracks on columns, beams, and seepage marks on walls and ceilings. This report was re-confirmed by the June 25 report when the building was classified C1 as extremely dangerous to be evacuated immediately. They noted that after the June 2024 report, the occupants did nothing "than exploiting the building and recklessly using the same, leaving the building to be deteriorated.
" The duty to maintain the building was of the petition association of persons with "prominent commercial establishment and a restaurant being situated in the building with large business turnover."
The petitioner relied on BMC's June 20 notice to submit a structural audit report within 30 days. The judges noted that a May 2024 structural stability report showed the building was in fact C1 category but the petitioners did not refer to it.
"…this amounts to material suppression," they added.
The judges referred to a judgment in suo motu PIL initiated after the Jilani Building collapse in Bhiwandi, which killed 38 people, and a similar tragedy in Malvani where 12 lives were lost. "What is paramount for the Court to consider is the safety of human lives… Even persons occupying adjoining buildings, passers-by on the busy road have rights not to get affected in any manner by a building collapse.
There cannot be any guarantee whatsoever when the building would collapse," they said.
The judge said the petitioner is before HC is "too late" in time to contend that it would make an attempt to repair the building. They refused to allow members to access it to retrieve their belongings. They directed the petition to pay Rs 5 lakh cost to the cancer ward of KEM Hospital.
