Bombay HC upholds Bhendi Bazaar land acquisition for cluster redevelopment, rejects delegation and Waqf Act challenges

A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court (Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat, JJ.), on 23 October 2026, dismissed two writ petitions challenging acquisition of properties in Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar for a Cluster Development Scheme (CDS) under Regulation 33(9)(3)(5) of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR), framed under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (MRTP Act). The petitioners, including Dhanwadi Mohallah Mosque Waqf through its mutawallis, argued that the Regulation was ultra vires the MRTP Act and amounted to excessive delegation of legislative power, and that the acquisition violated Article 300A of the Constitution and Section 91 of the Waqf Act, 1995. The Court held the Regulation was validly made through the statutory consultation process under Section 37(1AA) of the MRTP Act, and supplied sufficient guidelines for a developer who had acquired consent of at least 70% of a cluster's land to seek acquisition of the remainder, so it was not excessive delegation. Relying on Sooraram Pratap Reddy v. District Collector, Ranga Reddy District, the Court held the acquisition served a 'public purpose' despite the involvement of a private developer.

It found no breach of natural justice, since the petitioners had notice and an opportunity to object, and rejected the Waqf Act objection because the Waqf Board itself had stated it had no objection to the acquisition. Compensation disputes, the Court held, had to be pursued through the statutory reference under Section 64 of the Right to Fair Compensation Act, 2013, not a writ petition. This is a Bombay High Court ruling, binding within Maharashtra, not a Supreme Court precedent.