HC relief for man dragged to court over flat repairs
repair work in his flat led to water seepage in hers.
The court, while calling the allegations “vague in nature”, said none of the accused could be held responsible for the damage. In two separate orders, the court quashed the criminal proceedings against them.
Vijay Kumar Gupta and the chairperson and secretary of the Colaba housing society he stays in were issued notices by the Dadar metropolitan magistrate court last year, after his neighbour filed a case under the Mumbai Municipal Act. The complainant said the repair work in Gupta’s house led to leakage of water and seepage in her flat.
The neighbour complained to the BMC, which sent an inspection officer to assess the damage. After the officer confirmed the seepage was because of the work done in Gupta’s flat, the complainant filed the case against Gupta and made the chairperson and the secretary of the housing society parties to the case, saying they had “failed to rein in the nuisance” despite her complaints.
Following this, Gupta and the management filed two separate applications before the HC, seeking relief.
The HC said the magisterial court had erred in issuing the case proceedings against all the accused and that the “inspection report” as well as “allegations” against the applicants were “vague in nature”.
Justice Anuja Prabhudessai, who was presiding over the matter, said no specific role could be attributed to the management of the society and based on the nature of the complaint, they did not seem to be responsible for the nuisance in any manner.