Thane, Sept 25: The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Thane Commissioner to ascertain and identify the precise location and extent of a parcel of land in Thane forming part of Survey Nos. 217/1 and 217/2, after pharmaceutical company Raptakos, Brett & Company Ltd sought police protection to stop alleged construction on its property.
Background and court intervention
The petition was filed by Raptakos, Brett & Company and its Senior Vice-President Dinesh R. Mishra. The company has already instituted Regular Civil Suit No. 272 of 2024 seeking a declaration and an injunction against alleged unauthorised entry and construction on its land in Thane.
According to the petition, unidentified persons entered the company’s land on 13 April 2024, cut geo-tagged trees and claimed to be contractors of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) carrying out widening of a nalla. The company further alleged that on 7 May 2024, a private respondent and his men broke down an RCC compound wall, entered the land with a JCB, damaged trees and threatened company personnel.
The civil suit prompted a series of interim orders. On 29 May 2024, the civil court observed photographs showing day-to-day construction and directed maintenance of the status quo. On 20 July 2024, it restrained the defendants from entering the suit property or carrying out civil works with heavy machinery, and specifically directed Vartak Nagar Police to provide assistance for implementation. When police reportedly declined to intervene on the ground that the matter was a "civil dispute", the civil court again directed police assistance on 19 August 2024. The High Court itself passed an interim order on 30 August 2024 directing the police to stop construction activities on the suit property, remove construction machinery and prevent the private respondents from entering or carrying out construction.
High Court’s present concern: identity of the land
The principal difficulty highlighted before the High Court was that the private respondents denied they were constructing on the petitioners’ land and contended that works were taking place on their own land with statutory permissions. In that backdrop the High Court ordered the Thane Commissioner to carry out a precise identification of the disputed land so that the civil court’s injunction can be meaningfully implemented.
- Parties involved: Raptakos, Brett & Company Ltd; Dinesh R. Mishra (SVP); private respondents including the person named as Respondent No. 6.
- Disputed land: Survey Nos. 217/1 and 217/2 in Thane.
- Key civil orders: Maintenance of status quo (29 May 2024); injunction restraining entry and machinery (20 July 2024); police assistance directions and High Court interim order (30 August 2024).
The High Court’s direction aims to remove ambiguity over on-ground boundaries so that police and municipal authorities can act consistently with civil injunctions and any statutory permissions that may exist for the neighbouring parties.
Local implications and next steps
The matter touches on everyday concerns in Thane: the exercise of municipal powers, the role of local police when civil disputes involve alleged forcible entries, and the protection of corporate-owned land and trees. For residents of Vartak Nagar and adjoining localities, the dispute underscores tensions that can arise where urban infrastructure work (for example, nalla widening) intersects with privately held parcels.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Company | Raptakos, Brett & Company Ltd |
| Civil suit | Regular Civil Suit No. 272 of 2024 |
| Survey Nos. | 217/1 and 217/2 (Thane) |
| Key dates | 13 Apr 2024 (alleged entry); 7 May 2024 (RCC wall breach); 29 May, 20 Jul, 19 Aug, 30 Aug 2024 (court orders) |
"[T]he police refused to intervene, stating that the matter was a 'civil dispute'," the petition records.
The High Court order requiring administrative fact-finding is likely to put responsibility on the Thane Commissioner to produce clear maps or on-ground demarcation that courts and police can rely on. How quickly the commissioner completes that task will determine whether the civil injunction can be effectively enforced and whether any alleged construction or municipal activity may proceed lawfully.
The case remains sub judice in the Bombay High Court and implementation will depend on reports and identifications ordered by the court, as well as subsequent directions to police and municipal agencies.
