Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday issued contempt notices to Thane municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao and assistant director (town planning) Sangram Kanade for failing to grant a Development Rights Certificate (DRC) or Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to real estate firm D Dahyabhai & Company Private Limited (DDCPL) for surrendering 404,721 square metres (approximately 100 acres) of its land to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).
On February 20, the high court had ordered the TMC to grant the DRC or TDR within 21 days from February 25, bringing a 50-year-old dispute to a close. The dispute was over whether over 193 acres of land in Manpada, Thane, should be classified as a “private forest” and acquired by the state. The high court had upheld a 2017 order of the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal (MRT), which refused to declare the land a private forest.
The court had also said that the TMC cannot go back on its assurance to compensate DDCPL with a DRC for part of the land it acquired. Refusing the DRC would be “unjust and unfair and would impinge [on] the constitutional rights” of the land owner, the court had said.
Following the TMC’s failure to comply within the stipulated period, DDCPL contended that the civic body was in contempt of court. Hearing the petition on Monday, a division bench of justices RV Ghuge and Abhay Mantri came down heavily on the civic body.
“Various orders passed by this bench in this contempt petition from time to time would clearly indicate that we have been extremely patient with the municipal corporation, notwithstanding the fact that the municipal corporation has actually taken undue advantage of our magnanimity,” the bench said. “Seldom does it happen that a respondent virtually desires to confront the court in contempt proceedings.”
The judges noted that on September 17, 2025, the TMC had, before a civil court, agreed to grant a DRC to DDCPL for the surrendered portion of land. The TMC’s counsel told the court that none of the parties had so far challenged the high court’s February 20 judgment in the Supreme Court. However, they contended that if a higher court were to modify the ruling and DDPCL utilises the DRC in the meantime, it would create an “irreversible situation”.
However, DDCPL’s lawyer, Cherag Balsara, said the company had, in April 2025, told the high court that it would indemnify the TMC if a court order went against it.
Issuing notices under the Contempt of Courts Act, the high court asked both Rao and Kanade to be present in court on May 5.