Nagpur: In a significant development in the HB Town dispute, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has lifted the stay on a District Judge’s order, dealing a major blow to the HB Town Residents’ Association. The case pertains to the construction of a compound wall on an 18-metre-wide road earmarked in the city’s development plan.
On July 7, 2023, the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) had issued a notice to the HB Town Residents’ Association, stating that the wall amounted to encroachment and must be demolished. In response, the residents initially filed a civil suit in the District Court and later moved Miscellaneous Civil Appeal (MCA 137/2024) before District Judge-6. On May 3, 2025, the District Judge rejected the appeal.
Gold Rate
13 June 2025
Challenging this decision, the residents approached the High Court, which initially stayed the lower court’s order. However, during the latest hearing on Thursday, the High Court vacated the stay, effectively reinstating the District Judge’s directive—clearing the way for the NIT to proceed with its demolition order.
According to the original NIT notice, HB Town had constructed the compound wall illegally, encroaching on land meant for public infrastructure. The trust instructed the residents to remove the encroachment within three days of receiving the notice.
The petitioners had argued that the wall in question had existed for over 20 years and formed part of the boundary demarcating the HB Town scheme. They maintained that the wall was not an illegal structure, but was built for security purposes and in accordance with the original layout plan sanctioned by the NIT. They also noted that a revised layout was approved on September 30, 2005.
In earlier proceedings, the District Court had dismissed the residents’ plea for a temporary injunction, and their subsequent appeal was also turned down. The High Court, while vacating the stay, noted that evaluating the documentary and oral evidence presented in the civil suit would take time, but that did not justify continued protection against the NIT’s action.
The HB Town group, an unregistered body representing bungalow and flat owners in the Old Pardi Naka area along Bhandara Road, now faces imminent action from NIT as per the court’s directions.
