After receiving the notice from the BMC, the actor approached a civil court in December but failed to get relief following which he filed an appeal in the High Court.

ACTOR SONU Sood has moved the Bombay High Court, challenging an order of the city civil court that dismissed his petition against the notice issued to him by the BMC. The BMC issued notice to the 48-year-old actor for allegedly carrying out structural changes to a residential building in suburban Juhu without permission.

Sood and his wife Sonali, in their petition filed last week through advocate D P Singh, said they did not carry out any “illegal or unauthorised” construction in the six-storey Shakti Sagar building.

On October 27, 2020, the BMC issued a notice under Section 53 (1) of the Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices Act to the Soods, giving them a month’s time to restore the property as per the original plan or get approval from the competent authority for changes made.

After receiving the notice from the BMC, the actor approached a civil court in December but failed to get relief following which he filed an appeal in the High Court.

Sood has urged the court to set aside the civil court’s order and quash the BMC notice issued in October last year, and also sought interim relief restraining the civic body from taking coercive action against him. Challenging the civil court’s order of December 19, Sood contended that the court “ought to have considered that the notice was issued by the complainant (BMC) who is hell-bent on causing harm to the property of the appellants if at all its illegal demands are not satisfied”.

He also stated that the BMC notice was in contravention of provisions of the Mumbai Regional Town Planning Act. Sood contended that the notice was issued with “malafide intent” and was “nothing but blackmailing tactics issued at the behest of the complainant (BMC)”.

A single bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan is likely to hear Sood’s appeal on Monday. Advocate Amogh Singh, representing Sood, said, “We are seeking that the court quashes the notice issued by the BMC and provides interim relief to the petitioner.”

The BMC last Monday filed a complaint at the Juhu police station, seeking an FIR to be lodged against Sood for allegedly converting the residential building into a hotel without permission.

According to the BMC, on January 4, another team again visited the actor’s property to check if he had removed the unauthorised parts. It was found, however, that illegal construction was on despite the notice.

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