Mumbai: Chembur resident evicted from own flat for ‘trespass’

Sudhir Maru and his wife Neeta (left) had bought the flat on the 15th floor of Kranti Building No. 1 (right) in Subhash Nagar, Chembur East in July 2014. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

After renting out his flat in Chembur for more than six years, 56-year-old Sudhir Maru and his wife Neeta decided to sell off their second residence in Ghatkopar, where they had been living, to return to their Chembur home in March this year. To their utter shock, when they reached the building, the builder's men arrived with cops and stopped them from entering the house. They were then taken to the police station and arrested on the charges of trespassing. With no place to go, the couple and some of their family members have been staying at a community centre in Mulund for over four months now. However, the Chembur police said that the action was legal, while refusing to divulge further details of the case.

‘Bought in 2014'

The couple had booked the flat on the 15th floor of Kranti Building number 1 in Subhash Nagar, Chembur (East) in July 2014 for '59 lakh. Sudhir paid '1 lakh to GA Builders Pvt Ltd as the booking amount and an agreement for sale was prepared in October 2014. "After paying the booking amount, we transferred the remaining amount to Mehul Parekh, one of the directors of GA Builders. I have paid '58 lakh through various modes till now. I was given an allotment letter and the keys to the flat in 2014. Thereafter, I rented it out for the next six years," said Sudhir.

Due to a financial constraint, Maru sold their Ghatkopar flat and decided to shift to the Chembur one. "When we reached the building with our stuff, the builder's men arrived with the police and asked on whose permission we had entered the flat. We were asked to wait for two to three days to take possession of the flat but after a couple of days when we went back, we were literally dragged out and taken to the police station," said Neeta.

The cops took Sudhir, Neeta, their daughter Urmi Dedhia, son-in-law Paras Dedhia and family members Swati Navale and Bhavna Gala to the Chembur police station and registered an FIR against them under IPC Sections 452 (trespassing), 458 (trespassing in night) and 34 (common intention). All were arrested, produced in court and later released on bail.

‘Did not pay anything'

Abdul Hafiz Sheikh, civil engineer of GA builders in his complaint to the Chembur police has stated that Sudhir didn't pay a single penny even after 60 days of the flat's registration, which led to the agreement being null and void. He further mentioned that Sudhir broke the lock of the flat and entered forcefully. mid-day tried to reach out to Sheikh but he remained unavailable for comment.

Speaking about their condition, Sudhir said, "We spent our life's income on this flat and now we don't have it. We fear for our safety and hence didn't even go back to the apartment. I am trying to take a legal course, but with limited resources I don't know how much time it will take."

‘How did they allow tenants?'

He further said, "If I have not paid any money to the builder, how did they allow tenants in my flat for over six years? There is some problem between the two partners of the project, but we are being shown as criminals."

When contacted, Shalini Sharma, senior inspector of Chembur police station, said, "We have not sealed the flat. It has been locked so that no one else can enter it. The keys are with the family." When asked as to why the family had been booked for trespassing even though they have all the documents of the flat, she said, "I have to speak to the investigating officer for more details. I can't say much right now as the investigation is going on. All I can say is that we haven't acted illegally and action was taken as per the rules."

‘Police action looks extreme'

Meanwhile, Advocate Amita Chaware, practising lawyer in MahaRERA, said, "It's a civil offence not a criminal one. If the builder believed that a person trespassed on his property, the cops could have just given them a warning. The person who entered the flat claims he has paid the full amount and received monthly rent from the tenant for more than six years. How can he become a trespasser suddenly? Here police action looks extreme and unnecessary."