Eviction from MIDC Plot for Unauthorised Sub-letting
Judgment dated 1.10.2026 pf the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.2337 of 2023 of Jay Steel Rolling and Engineering Works Vs. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation
Eviction from MIDC Plot for Unauthorised Sub-letting
MIDC Plot & Eviction under Bombay Government Premises (Eviction) Act, 1955
On 25.11.1961, the Agreement to Lease was executed by the Respondent MIDC in favour of Shri. M. B. Patel (Proprietor of Mohanlal and Company) granting the said premises on perpetual lease for setting up an industry.
On 14th November 1972, the Respondent-MIDC granted permission to assign and transfer the lease hold rights with respect to the said premises to Shri Lokender Bhagwan Jain and Smt. Tejaswani Bhagwan Jain (partners of the Petitioner), and by a letter of the same date confirmed the aforesaid transfer in favour of the Petitioner.
On 3rd March 2010, a registered Will was executed by Shri. Lokender Bhagwan Jain, bequeathing the entirety of the leasehold rights in the said premises to Shri Amit Lokender Jain sole proprietor of the petitioner.
March 2014, the Petitioner applied to the Respondent-MIDC seeking transfer of the said premises in his name, and no action has been taken on the said application. Thereafter, on 20th December 2016, the Respondent-MIDC issued a demand notice of even date, alleging unauthorized subletting by the Petitioner and raising a demand of Rs. 1,51,79,700/- payable by the Petitioner within a period of 15 days of the said notice, failing which, the Respondent-MIDC would terminate the Agreement to Lease.
On 19th March 2019, the Respondent-MIDC issued the impugned eviction notice under Section 4(2) of the Act alleging a breach of Clause 3(j) of the Agreement to Lease dated 25th November 1961(unauthorized subletting) and failure to enter into a lease deed subsequent to the transfer of the said premises.
By the impugned judgment and order the Trial Court was pleased to dismiss the Regular Civil Appeal No. 19 of 2020, and thereby confirmed the eviction notice dated 19th March 2019 and subsequent eviction order dated 11th December 2019.
The challenge in the present Petition is primarily to the judgment and order dated 6th February 2020 (hereinafter referred to as “impugned judgment and order”) passed by the Learned Principal District Judge, Thane (hereinafter referred to as the “Trial Court”) in Regular Civil Appeal No. 19 of 2020 filed under Section 7 of the Bombay Government Premises (Eviction) Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) challenging the eviction notice dated 19th March 2019 under Section 4(2) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as “impugned eviction notice”) and subsequent eviction order dated 11th December 2019 under Section 4 of the Act (hereinafter referred to as the “impugned eviction order”) issued by Respondent MIDC in respect of Plot No. B-4, Wagle Estate Industrial Area, Thane (hereinafter referred to as “said premises”).
It is in these circumstances that the Petitioner has filed the present Writ Petition.
I am therefore of the view that the impugned judgment and order passed by the Trial Court has correctly upheld the impugned eviction notice and impugned eviction order and has proceeded on a correct basis to hold that the Respondent-MIDC had issued a notice to the Petitioner way back in the year 2016 making specific allegations of subletting, and at that time the Petitioner had chosen not to deny the said fact, and further that the Petitioner had chosen to not reply to the impugned eviction notice dated 19th March, 2019 .I am further of the view that the Trial Court by way of impugned judgment and order has rightly applied the provisions of Section 4 of the Act to evict the Petitioner, inasmuch as all the conditions which are to be followed by the competent authority prior to evicting a person have been followed in the present case.
