In Brief
Indian Cork Mills, the owner of slum-encroached land in Mumbai declared a Slum Rehabilitation Area in 2011, challenged the State's acquisition of its property at the request of a housing society formed by slum dwellers. The Supreme Court held that landowners have a preferential right to redevelop such areas under the 1971 Act before the Slum Rehabilitation Authority can intervene. The owner must be formally notified and invited to submit a redevelopment scheme. The Court found the State's acquisition invalid because no such invitation was issued and the process was tainted by the developer's mala-fide influence over the housing society. The acquisition was set aside, and the owner was granted 120 days to submit a scheme.
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