“Elite Form Of Coercion”: Bombay HC Says Courts Cannot Be Used By Tenants To Pressure Landlords Into Recognising Developer's Rights

The Bombay High Court has imposed costs of Rs. 5 lakhs on tenants seeking impleadment of a new developer in redevelopment proceedings despite the absence of any privity of contract between the developer and the landlords. The Court observed that the application was “nothing else but an elite form of coercion and extortion” and amounted to abuse of the process of law.A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata was hearing an interim application filed in a writ petition concerning the redevelopment of a building known as Kamla Bhuvan. The applicants, who were tenants of the building, sought impleadment of M/s. BS Lifespace as a respondent to the proceedings. The tenants contended that the proposed developer had actively participated in redevelopment activities, including obtaining approvals, coordination with tenants, execution of plans and settlement discussions. It was further contended that several tenants had executed consent-cum-declarations in favour of the proposed developer and that the landlords had failed to provide assurances regarding permanent alternate accommodation agreements. The landlords opposed the application, contending that there was no contract whatsoever between them and the proposed developer. The Court observed that the tenants had no right to implead a party who admittedly had no privity of contract with the landlords. It held that such impleadment would unnecessarily enlarge and complicate the dispute. The Court specifically queried whether there existed any binding contract between M/s. BS Lifespace and the landlords. Upon being informed that no such contract existed, the Court observed that the application was “a sheer abuse of process of law and nothing else but an elite form of coercion and extortion.” The Court further noted that the application was effectively a “back-door entry” attempted by the proposed developer through the tenants.“… the present Application would be a sheer abuse of process of law and nothing else but an elite form of coercion and extortion… the present Application is nothing else but a back-door entry attempted by the proposed Respondent, through a seemingly innocuous application of being joined as a necessary party to the present Petition,” the Court observed. The Court noted that despite being offered an opportunity to withdraw the application, the applicants insisted on adjudication. It recorded that the application appeared to be a pressure tactic employed by the proposed developer in the guise of proceedings initiated by tenants to compel the landlords to acknowledge rights of a party having no enforceable agreement either with the landlords or with the original developers. The Court observed that courts cannot be used as tools by litigants to coerce or pressurize parties.Accordingly, the Court dismissed the application with costs of Rs. 5 lakhs payable to the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa's Advocate Academy and Research Centre.Case Title: Shakuntala T. Amrutkar v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai [Interim Application No. 6549 of 2025 in Writ Petition No. 729 of 2024]Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 249Click Here To Read/Download Order

“Elite Form Of Coercion”: Bombay HC Says Courts Cannot Be Used By Tenants To Pressure Landlords Into Recognising Developer's Rights

Saksham Vaishya

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“Elite Form Of Coercion”: Bombay HC Says Courts Cannot Be Used By Tenants To Pressure Landlords Into Recognising Developer's Rights

Saksham Vaishya

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