Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by actor Sonu Sood for interim relief against a notice issued by the Mumbai civic corporation over alleged illegal alterations by him to a Juhu residential building to run it as a commercial hotel.

Sood had filed an appeal against the dismissal of his plea by the city civil court on December 19, 2020, for protection from a demolition notice issued last October by the corporation. The city court said “illegality has been detected and crystallised” by the BMC officer and hence the notice was proper.

Justice Prithviraj Chavan of the HC declined a plea by the actor’s lawyer Amogh Singh for restraining the BMC from taking any further action based on the notice. The actor wanted 10 weeks to comply with the notice and sought a stay on the notice, which the HC declined, saying “the ball” was in the civic administration’s office.

The judge said on Sood’s request for a stay, “You are too late. The law gives ample opportunity and you have to be diligent.” Singh had argued that Sood was being “singled out” by the BMC and denied any illegal construction in violation of permissions.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), through senior counsel Anil Sakhare, had sought dismissal of his plea and submitted that Sood’s plea for protection against demolition of his Juhu property was a “mala fide attempt and an abuse of process” to protect “an ex-facie illegal commercial hotel which has been constructed and modified” by him contrary to the sanctioned building plan.

The hotel is in “violation of the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and is operating in absence of any licence,” the BMC had stated in an affidavit filed before the high court in response to his appeal and interim application for relief against civic action in the matter. It had issued the actor a Section 53(1) notice under the MRTP Act (power to seek removal of unauthorised development) which allows for 30 days to the owner to comply with the notice before passing an order.

The muncipal corporation had also said that the actor had made “baseless allegations of harassment and malafides” against it. The BMC said the actor moved court in haste as a “strategy” and was a “habitual offender” and has been unable to show any documents to prove permission.

Sood had “not disputed that there is no permission of change of user and that there is no licence to run the commercial hotel” in Shakti Sagar building of six floors, the BMC had argued.

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Mumbai: With the HC dismissing Sonu Sood’s appeal and an interim application filed by the actor against a civic notice over allegedly illegally converting a residential building in Juhu into a hotel, BMC officials said the police must register an FIR against the actor and prosecute him.

The BMC had on January 4 filed a police complaint against Sood for allegedly converting a six-storey residential building in Juhu into a hotel without the required permissions. The BMC asked the Juhu police to take cognisance of the offence committed by Sood under the Maharashtra Region and Town Planning (MRTP) Act for unauthorised additions, alterations and change of user.

“We had made sure that our stand in the HC was clear and all the paperwork was in place. We didn’t not want any kind of rap from the HC like it happened in cases where other celebrities were involved. So our affidavit was drafted with all the relevant facts in place. We have already filed a written complaint, and the police must now register an FIR under the MRTP Act. They will then have to take prosecution action against Sood,” said a senior civic official.

Activist Ganesh Kusmulu, who had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta in the matter, also said that the police must register an FIR against Sood. “The BMC and the police have tried to delay the matter for a long time. Now the HC has refused to give any relief to Sood, so an FIR must be filed immediately and the illegal construction must be demolished,” Kusmulu said. In January the Lokayukta had directed BMC to file report on why action should not be taken against civic officers for dereliction of duties.

“We have already given a written complaint to the police. So they have to take action as per procedure and as per the HC order,” said Vishwas Mote, assistant municipal commissioner, K-West ward.

The BMC had urged HC to dismiss Sood’s petition seeking to restrain the civic body from carrying out demolition at his property. The actor moved HC after the Dindoshi city civil court refused to restrain the civic body from taking action against alleged unauthorized alterations at the building on Juhu’s AB Nair Road.