In Brief
A building owner in Mumbai sought demolition of a 90-year-old structure classified as C-1 (immediately dangerous) by the municipal corporation. The sole tenant who resisted evacuation obtained a High Court order allowing her to remove an adjoining wall with private architects' help. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that the High Court erred in making factual assessments of conflicting structural reports and relying on a report that disclaimed being a stability certificate when the Technical Advisory Committee had declared the building dangerous. The Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the High Court order and dismissing the tenant's writ petition, but approved the landlord's proposal to provide equivalent post-reconstruction housing on ownership basis and interim rent at Rs.18 per sq. metre.
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