MUMBAI: In a significant ruling for one of India’s oldest industrial groups, the Bombay City Civil Court has annulled a long-standing government notification that categorized Godrej & Boyce’s manufacturing land in Vikhroli as a slum area. This judgment effectively concludes the legal challenge, safeguarding the private property from state acquisition under the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act.
Judge A.K. Kale stated, “It is hereby declared that no valid declaration exists under Section 4(1) of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act concerning the suit land. Defendant numbers 1 and 2 (additional collector and deputy collector ENC) are restrained from designating the colony on suit land as a slum area under the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act until a valid declaration is made.”
The dispute traces back to 1978 when the deputy collector declared a 7,850-square-metre (approximately 2 acres) section of the Godrej estate as a slum. Godrej & Boyce contested this claim, arguing that the land—acquired through historical conveyances from the East India Company—was utilized as a transit camp for migrant workers hired for construction projects, who were given temporary housing and building materials without payment. The company asserted that these workers were not slum dwellers but temporary licensees.
The judge noted that the state had not acted on its own notification for over a decade, observing that after numerous notices in the late 1970s, the government did not follow up until 1988. When officials finally inspected the site in 1989, they found it vacant. The court concluded that because Godrej had moved its labor force according to construction needs, the proposed “slum” did not exist at the location specified in the government notice.
Ultimately, the judge ruled that “the declaration under Section 4(1) of the Slum Act is invalid” and issued a permanent injunction against the state authorities.
The court also noted a procedural conflict; at the time the slum notification was made, the state was already involved in a separate high court case concerning the ownership of the Vikhroli lands. The judge deemed it improper for the state to apply slum redevelopment powers while the ownership issue was unresolved.
Moreover, the plea addressed outside interference, as Godrej alleged that local activists and members of the Dalit Panther organization trespassed, held unauthorized meetings, and intimidated workers to prevent them from attending work, falsely promising laborers land ownership from the government.
In its final ruling, the court granted a permanent injunction against both the state and certain individuals involved in the protests, declaring the notification “invalid and null.” The judge ordered the state authorities to refrain from classifying the colony on the suit land as a slum area until a valid declaration is made, and prohibited activists from obstructing access to the estate for laborers and company officials.
