In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision protecting two open space plots (Nos. 3/14 and 6/11) in Mumbai's JVPD Scheme from construction. Originally reserved for gardens and open space in an approved 1967 layout as part of a Dawoodi Bohra community housing scheme, the plots cannot be converted to construction sites merely because a 1999 development plan designated the broader area as residential. The Court held that an approved layout creating mandatory open space reservations under statutory rules is binding and cannot be overridden by later development plans showing only broad zoning. Having benefited from the layout by constructing on 59 other plots, the trust cannot now claim the two reserved open spaces for private use.
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