In Brief
The Supreme Court allowed the appellants' civil appeals against the Bombay High Court's judgment. The case involved a title dispute over 5 acres and 20 gunthas of land in Mumbai between the Gonsalves family (predecessors of Esteem Properties) and the State of Maharashtra spanning over six decades. The High Court had entertained a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by third parties challenging a revenue order that favoured the appellants. The Supreme Court held that PIL cannot be used to challenge quasi-judicial orders in private title disputes, particularly when the State Government itself had conceded the appellants' title. The Court found that allowing strangers to litigate title disputes through PIL would constitute an abuse of process, and that procedural review applications can only be filed by original parties to proceedings."
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