New Delhi, July 22: The scandal-hit Adarsh housing society in Mumbai will not be demolished for now, with the Supreme Court asking the Centre today to take possession of the 31-storey building and "secure" it.
"We will secure the building and the land and there will be no demolition," solicitor general Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, assured the bench.
The Centre's assurance that it would not raze the building till the court decides the society's appeal against the demolition order issued by Bombay High Court on April 29 is by default a respite for owners of apartments in the Colaba building that overlooks the Arabian Sea.
While issuing notices to the Centre and the Maharashtra government on the appeal filed by the society, the court had refused to expedite the hearing.
"These type of matters can't be given priority," the bench of Justices J. Chelameshwar and A.M. Sapre told the solicitor general, who wanted an early hearing.
Since the matter will not be heard on priority, it may take another year or so for it to be disposed of given the huge backlog of cases in the Supreme Court.
The court said the Centre should take over the possession within one week, but not later than August 5.
"We will not permit you to deal with the land anymore," the bench told senior counsel Shekhar Naphade appearing for the housing society.
But it allowed the society's office-bearers to collect their documents lying in the office in the presence of government officials and the high court registrar concerned.
On April 29, Bombay High Court had directed the ministry of environment and forests to demolish the building that violates coastal zone regulations. It had also asked the state government to initiate civil and criminal action against politicians and top officials allegedly involved in the illegal construction.
The building, which overlooks several sensitive defence installations, came up on prime property in Mumbai that was originally earmarked for Kargil war veterans and widows. A nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and senior army officers have been accused of bending rules over several years to get apartments in the building allotted for themselves or their relatives.
When the scam came to light in 2010, the names of three Congress chief ministers and middle-level leaders along with some top BJP leaders from Maharashtra were linked to the conspiracy. The furore had led the UPA government to pass an order in January 2011 directing the society to demolish the unauthorised building within three months. The residents then went to the high court, which too ordered demolition. The scandal had led to the resignation in November 2010 of then chief minister Ashok Chavan, three of whose relatives were allotted flats in the building.
