16 March,2026 11:56 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The court ordered the partition of the remaining nearly one acre (4,271 sqm) of land in Yerawada among his heirs. Representational Pic
The Bombay High Court has resolved a 76-year-old property dispute, ordering the partition of a one-acre plot in Pune among the heirs of the original owner.
A single bench, headed by Justice Farhan Dubash, passed the judgment last month, disposing of petitions filed back in February 1950 by the heirs of landowner M. M. H. Janmohammed, who had sought partition and allocation of their respective shares in the property, reported PTI.
The court ordered the partition of the remaining nearly one acre (4,271 sqm) of land in Yerawada among his heirs.
The properties left behind by Janmohammed included two large plots - one on Deccan College Road and the other at Yerwada in Pune.
In March 1950, a preliminary partition was declared. The Maharashtra government then acquired the Deccan College Road plot and the compensation was divided among the legal heirs.
According to the news agency, the dispute over a 16-acre plot in Yerwada persisted as several other persons, including the heirs of a manager appointed by the landowner during his lifetime, claimed rights over the property, asserting the land had been given in lieu of debts.
In 1955, the heirs arrived at a compromise settlement. But, a one-acre land remained under dispute, which the high court on February 27 this year directed to be partitioned among the legal heirs of Janmohammed.
Meanwhile, the residents of Abhinav Nagar in Borivali East recently alleged that Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) was encroaching on about 2250 sq ft of land near their locality bordering the park. A local public representative who visited the site claimed the work was being carried out on the instructions of SGNP Director and IFS officer Anita Patil.
The allegations soon gained attention, and the matter was later raised in the Maharashtra State Assembly, where some public representatives demanded action against the park director.
Amid the controversy, SGNP Director Anita Patil issued a show-cause notice to SGNP deputy director (South) Kiran Patil. The notice states that the officer allegedly failed to provide timely clarification on the forest department's stand to residents, public representatives, and the media.
Sources from the forest department said, "Had Deputy Director (South) Kiran Patil officer clearly communicated the forest department's stance earlier, the misinformation about SGNP allegedly encroaching on land would not have spread. The delay in responding to the allegations ended up tarnishing the image of the park administration and the forest department." The notice also refers to the deputy director's alleged inefficient working method and seeks an explanation for the delay in clarifying the issue.
(With PTI inputs)
