Supreme Court Stays Bombay HC Judgment Releasing 193-Acre Thane Land From Acquisition As Private Forest

The Supreme Court has stayed a Bombay High Court judgment which had upheld the release of about 193 acres of land at Manpada, Thane from acquisition as “private forest” and had cleared the way for the landowner's claim for development rights.

A bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued notice in a special leave petition filed by the Thane Municipal Corporation and directed that the operation of the High Court judgment will remain stayed till the next hearing on July 20, 2026.

"Issue notice, returnable on 20.07.2026...Operation of the impugned judgment shall remain stayed till the next hearing", the Court said.

High Court judgment

The Bombay High Court had decided two connected writ petitions together. The first was filed by the State of Maharashtra challenging the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal's order dated June 30, 2017 releasing 193 acres of Forest Land from acquisition. The second was filed by landowner company D. Dahyabhai and Co. Pvt. Ltd. seeking grant of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) in respect of land transferred to the Thane Municipal Corporation.

The State's case was that about 193 acres constituted “private forest” under the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1975 and had vested in the Government. It argued that the Tribunal had wrongly released this land from acquisition and had exceeded the scope of inquiry.

The State stated that about 168 acres of the land was already in its possession as forest land within Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The State also argued that releasing the land from acquisition would effectively take land out of the National Park/forest control.

The High Court rejected the State's challenge and upheld the Tribunal's conclusions.

The High Court held that the State had failed to establish valid compliance with the manner required under the law to serve notice to the landowner to bring the land within the definition of “private forest”.

The Court also noted that material on record, including revenue entries and permissions, indicated that substantial portions of the land were under non-forest use such as cultivation, quarrying and other activities prior to the appointed date.

The Court also did not accept the State's argument that the Tribunal had acted beyond jurisdiction or had misapplied the law, and upheld the Tribunal's order.

As a result, the High Court effectively sustained the release of the land measuring about 193 acres, 7 gunthas and 4 annas from acquisition under the 1975 Act.

Since the outcome of the State's writ petition directly affected the company's claim, the High Court noted that the decision in the first petition would determine the fate of the second. With the State's challenge failing, the basis for denying TDR to the landowner did not survive, and the claim for development rights had to be considered accordingly.

By staying the High Court judgment, the Supreme Court has, for now, halted the release of the approximately 193-acre parcel from acquisition, along with the linked claim for development rights.

Case no. – Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 14911/2026

Case Title – Thane Municipal Corporation v. D. Dahyabhai and Co. Pvt Ltd. & Ors.