Mumbai: The Local Military Authority on Monday petitioned Bombay High Court to challenge as "illegal and unauthorised" construction of a highrise building less than 250 metres of INS Shikra, a highly sensitive naval air station and VVIP heliport at Colaba. The HC restrained workers from entering the building premises till Wednesday citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival at the heliport on Tuesday. The builder agreed to it.
Jadhavji Mansion is constructed up to 23 floors, the petition said, alleging violations of height guidelines for buildings within 500 metres of defence establishments.
A division bench of Justices R V Ghuge and Abhay Mantri said that "...considering that the Prime Minister of India would be landing at INS Shikra air station and … keeping in view the great anxiety expressed as regards the security protocol", it is directed that no construction worker would be permitted to enter the building for any construction or masonry activity from Monday midnight until the matter is heard for further orders, on Wednesday. HC also recorded that senior counsel SK Mishra, for the builder, made a statement that no worker would enter the building until the next date.
The BMC did not respond to the Naval query for months and appeared to grant construction permission without the mandatory no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Navy on height restrictions, argued senior counsel R V Govilkar and advocate Mihir Govilkar, citing urgency and stoppage of work.
The petition said an NOC from the Indian Navy was mandatory even prior to May 18, 2011 for construction in the vicinity of defence establishments under the old Development Control Regulations (DCR) of 1991. Following May 2011, an amendment to enhance height and floors was void for want of defence clearance, it contended, and added that BMC ignored "binding defence security requirements" and acted without applying its mind.
Mishra argued that there were no allegations against the builder. He said he would place all the facts in the affidavit.
Govilkar said a Naval NOC was not a new requirement, adding that the BMC allowed several amendments to the development post 2011. "The proximity, line of sight, and operational sensitivity of INS Shikra vitiates all permissions," the Naval petition contended, adding that the civic body's failure to invoke Section 354-A of the BMC Act constituted statutory dereliction in the face of prima facie illegality and danger. Section 354A empowers civic officials to immediately stop and demolish unlawful construction.
The petition said that in March 2015, the defence ministry modified its guidelines mandating an NOC for post-2011 height amendments, and in May 2025, INS Shikra wrote to BMC objecting to the height of the upcoming building and sought a stop-work notice. In July 2025, BMC's deputy chief engineer denied the applicability of defence guidelines, claiming prior permissions for the construction.
Swati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, w...
Read MoreSwati Deshpande is Senior editor at The Times of India, Mumbai, where she has been covering courts for over a decade. She is passionate about law and works towards enlightening people about their statutory, legal and fundamental rights. She makes it her job to decipher for the public the truth, be it in an intricate civil dispute or in a gruesome criminal case.
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