Stop-work notice to ‘enemy property' in Thane stayed by HC

The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday stayed a direction by the Custodian of Enemy Properties to authorities to issue stop-work notices or to ensure the halting of construction in a Thane property where a third of the land is said to be that of a Pakistani national.

- Swati Deshpande

Mumbai: The HC said its order was “on a no-equities and without prejudice basis” and doesn't constrain the duties of the custodian or other authorities under the Enemy Property (EP) Act of 1968. AA Corp and another person moved court against a December 2021 directive of the assistant custodian, enemy property, to ensure construction was stopped. The petitioners' senior counsel, Virag Tulzapurkar, said the plot it had rights over measured 4,950 sq m and was a part of the larger property and not an enemy property. The custodian, through counsel Advait Sethna, said, “At least part of the property devolved on a Pakistani national or his heirs.”