Pune: Bombay High Court Orders Demolition Of Buildings Within 500-Meter Radius Of DRDO’s High Energy Materials Research Laboratory In Pashan

Pashan, 28th February 2024: The Bombay High Court, through an order issued on Monday, emphatically declared that it would not compromise the interests of the Centre and the Ministry of Defence for the sake of private builders. The court directed the immediate demolition of constructions within a 500-meter radius of a defence lab situated in Pune.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has committed to executing the demolition of approximately 15 furniture showrooms covering around 30,000 square feet in the Pashan-Baner area near the Pune-Mumbai highway. This action will take place following the acquisition of police protection.

Highlighting the longstanding concerns raised by defence authorities since 2021, the court noted that these constructions encroach within the 500-meter boundary of the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL). The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Kamal Khata, emphasized these points in its order issued on February 23.

The High Court addressed a series of petitions filed last year seeking a stay on both impending and ongoing demolitions without fresh notices. It asserted that there is no legal requirement for every petitioner who commits an illegality to be entitled to a stay. Dismissing all petitions, the court imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh each, to be donated to charity.

The High Court had initially passed an interim stay order on February 8 in response to an urgent application by petitioners who claimed they were under the threat of demolition on February 12. However, the stay was lifted after counsel for the Pune civic body, Abhijit Kulkarni, informed the bench that the petitioners had secured the stay order based on misrepresentation. They failed to disclose that the demolition was intended to remove structures that had reappeared after being partially razed on November 30, 2023.

The laboratory in question is a facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Kulkarni argued that as per the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2020, any land within a prohibited distance of 500 meters from the crest of the outer parapet of HEMRL cannot be used for constructing buildings.

The High Court affirmed, stating, “This provision of the UDCPR is not under challenge and cannot be challenged.”