Bombay HC Dismisses Petitions Challenging Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial At Mayor's Bungalow

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has dismissed a batch of public interest litigations challenging the establishment of the Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak (National Memorial) at the site of the Mayor’s Bungalow at Shivaji Park, Dadar. The court upheld the decision of the Maharashtra government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), terming it a policy decision not warranting judicial interference.

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne noted that the site falls within Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)-II and has been cleared by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) from an environmental standpoint. “Therefore, there is no violation of environmental norms in setting up the Memorial,” the court observed.

The court also considered the advanced stage of construction of the Memorial. “The work of setting up of the Memorial is virtually complete… the grandiose structure of Mayor’s Bungalow has not only been kept intact, but has been restored. Its heritage significance is not disturbed,” the bench said, while also noting photographs placed on record.

The petitions had questioned multiple aspects, including the change in land use, constitution of the trust, nominal lease of land worth Rs 205 crore at Re 1 per year, and exemption from stamp duty. The state had amended Section 92 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act to permit such a lease. However, the court held that “the decision to choose the site of Mayor’s Bungalow for setting up the Memorial is a well-considered decision, not warranting interference”.

The petitioners had clarified that they were not opposed to the memorial itself, but to its location and the procedures followed. “Their clients are not per se against setting up of a memorial to commemorate late Balasaheb Thackeray… They however dispute selection of the site,” the court noted.

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Rejecting allegations of arbitrariness in the composition of the Trust, the court said, “Late Balasaheb Thackeray founded Shiv Sena political party… it can hardly be contended that taking on board three members of that party, two of whom are family members, would amount to arbitrariness.”

The bench concluded that the Memorial serves a public purpose and upheld the state’s decision: “Matters of policy must be left to the governments. Courts will not and should not substitute its own judgment for the judgment of the executive in such matters.”