Fresh Hearing Underway On Granting Heritage Status To Savarkar Sadan: BMC Tells Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has informed the Bombay High Court that its Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) has already held a meeting on the issue of granting heritage status to Savarkar Sadan in Dadar, and a fresh recommendation will soon be forwarded to the Maharashtra government.

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Abhinav Bharat Congress, a Hindu organisation led by Pankaj Phadnis, seeking heritage protection for the structure which once housed Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

2010 Heritage Recommendation Destroyed in Mantralaya Fire

The BMC said it was compelled to reconvene the committee and restart the heritage review process since the state government had informed the court that key files, including the 2010 recommendation from the BMC to grant heritage status to Savarkar Sadan, were destroyed in the Mantralaya fire in June 2012.

Petitioner Opposes Rehearing, Alleges Developer Influence

However, Phadnis strongly opposed the rehearing of the matter, stating, “All that the State needs is a copy of BMC's letter of 30-08-2010. Instead of obtaining it, they have asked BMC to reinvent the wheel.” He alleged that the fresh process could allow a developer, who was not in the picture in 2010, to “catch the bus he missed.”

The court remarked that if it is ultimately held that the matter cannot be reheard (By the heritage committee), the proceedings will be quashed. “Your prayer is to include Savarkar Sadan in the heritage list, then let them hear it,” the Chief Justice said.

Phadnis pointed out that while the State lost the heritage file, it continued to process a separate file involving third-party claims on the property. “Third-party rights were introduced in land records after 2010. They are irrelevant for the heritage decision,” he said.

Developer Claims He Acquired Property From Savarkar’s Heirs

He also objected to a developer seeking intervention in the matter, saying, “It is not Savarkar’s heirs but a builder who is intervening.” The builder claimed he had acquired part of the property from Savarkar’s heirs.

The court granted liberty to all parties to file additional affidavits and allowed BMC two weeks to submit its affidavit.

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‘Save Savarkar Sadan, Denotify Jinnah House As Heritage Structure’: Petitioner Urges Bombay HC

Phadnis filed an additional application criticizing the stand of thr authorities granting heritage status to Jinnah House, and sought that it be renamed as Rattanbai House, after Jinnah's secular, nationalist wife.

The matter will now be heard after three weeks. In the meantime, the court’s earlier order directing status quo on redevelopment of the building remains in force.