The Supreme Court on June 17, 2025, stayed the demolition of a religious structure (dargah) in Thane, Maharashtra for seven days. The order allows Pardesi Baba Trust to move the Bombay High Court and file a recall application against an earlier demolition order passed by the High Court.
The case pertains to a 23-year-old legal dispute involving an alleged illegal construction. The structure was expanded from the initial 160 sq ft to 17,610 sq ft on private land, allegedly without any municipal permission.
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A vacation bench of Justices Sandeep Mehta and Justices Prasanna B. Varale heard the matter. The Bombay High Court had earlier directed demolition of unauthorised portions of the dargah, criticised the Pardesi Baba Trust for the "dishonest" expansion and pulled up the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for filing "abusive affidavits".
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the trust, argued that the High Court failed to consider a crucial fact- "the civil suit regarding the construction was dismissed in April 2025". He claimed that this dismissal was not highlighted during the High Court proceedings, which could have affected the outcome. He further submitted that only 3,600 sq ft of construction was relevant and not the entire 17,610 sq ft area which the High Court took into consideration.
On the other hand, senior advocate Madhavi Divan, representing the private land owner, alleged that the trust has carried out systematic encroachment using religion as a shield. Relying on municipal corporation reports, she said that "the entire structure was unauthorised and was rebuilt despite parts of it being demolished earlier."
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"The trust may have existed, but when were you given permission? When were you allowed to construct on 17,000 sq ft of public land? This is private land. It is not public land," senior advocate Madhavi Divan argued in the court.
Justice Sandeep Mehta expressed concern over the high court's dismissal of the civil suit not being disclosed, saying such non-disclosure was "shameful" and possibly influenced the high court's decision.
“What we propose is that we allow them to file recall in view of the fact that the High Court has omitted, omitted to consider the fact of settlement of the suit… We will provide them protection for 7 days.”- the Supreme Court orally remarked.
The Supreme Court clarified that the stay was temporary and only to allow the trust to move the High Court. If the High Court refuses to hear the recall application, the trust can go back to the Supreme Court.
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The court further said that the status of the demolition that took place on March 10, 2025, was not clear and the legality of the remaining structure was still uncertain. The matter is now back to the Bombay High Court for a possible re-evaluation based on the dismissed suit.
Case Title: GAZI SALAUDDIN REHMATULLA HOOLE ALIAS PARDESHI BABA TRUST Versus NEW SHREE SWAMI SAMARTHA BORIVADE HOUSING COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED AND ORS., SLP(C) No. 16699/2025
