Property-owners challenge demolition of house linked to Nida Khan in High Court

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Hanif Khan Yusuf Khan and others, the original owners of the house in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where accused Nida Khan in the TCS company case from Nashik had allegedly been given shelter, have challenged in the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court the notice on the basis of which the municipal corporation demolished the said house.

During the previous hearing, the municipal corporation had orally assured the court that ‘action would be taken in accordance with the rules’. The Bench had scheduled the next hearing for May 18. Accordingly, while the municipal corporation was expected to wait until May 18, Adv. Krishna Rodge informed the Bench on Friday that the house had been demolished on May 13 itself, even before the expiry of the period mentioned in the municipal notice.

Thereupon, Justice Vaishali Patil-Jadhav permitted them to present their submissions through a civil application. The next hearing on the petition will now take place on May 18.

Petitioners’ contention

According to the petition, the house situated on Plot No. 43 in Brijwadi was purchased on March 12, 2026 by Hanif Khan, Yusuf Khan, and Syed Sarwar from Ameer Khan Akhtar Khan through a registered sale deed. The three are the lawful owners of the property. However, they had not yet moved into the house. Since some relatives of Matin Shaikh were to stay there for a few days, they had handed over the keys of the house to Matin.

Municipal notice

The municipal corporation issued a notice in the name of Matin Shaikh (Matin Patel), and subsequently corrected it by hand with a pen to include Hanif’s name. The notice was pasted on the house on the evening of May 9, directing that documents be submitted within three days.

The petitioners requested 15 days’ time to submit the documents. Since their petition was scheduled for hearing on May 12, the municipal corporation served another 24-hour notice at 12 noon. During the hearing, the corporation had orally assured the court that ‘action would be taken in accordance with the rules’.

However, despite the deadline extending until 12 noon the following day, the municipal corporation allegedly demolished the house at 5 am on May 13, stated the petitioners.

Advocates Rodge and Shardul Shinde, appearing for the petitioners, mentioned these facts and requested an urgent hearing of the petition, following which the bench scheduled the matter for hearing on May 18.