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The Bombay High Court has intervened in a dispute between Decathlon Sports India and Godrej Projects Development over a commercial property in Chembur, Mumbai. The court has restrained Godrej from handing over the space to Titan Company and appointed a court receiver to take control of the property. The case involves claims that Decathlon’s earlier lease arrangement was terminated to enable a more lucrative deal with Titan. The matter now centres on competing contractual rights, financial commitments, and the legal validity of agreements versus a registered lease deed.
The Bombay High Court has stepped into a dispute between Decathlon Sports India Pvt Ltd and Godrej Projects Development Ltd concerning a commercial property in Chembur, Mumbai. The court has restrained Godrej from handing over the premises to Titan Company Ltd and directed that the property be placed under the control of a court receiver until further orders. This ensures that no third-party rights are created while the matter is being heard. Advertisement
The dispute relates to an earlier lease arrangement under which Decathlon had planned to set up a large-format retail outlet at the site. The company informed the court that it had already taken several steps based on this understanding, including initiating store planning, starting preliminary fit-outs, and working on regulatory approvals. It also indicated that business decisions such as closing or scaling down operations at existing locations in Bandra and Worli were linked to this planned shift.
According to submissions made before the court, the agreement between Decathlon and Godrej was terminated, after which Godrej entered into a fresh lease arrangement with Titan. This new agreement reportedly involved a larger area, almost double the earlier space, and was structured for a long-term period of around 21 years with improved commercial terms.
The court noted in its initial observations that the sequence of events raised questions about whether the termination of Decathlon’s agreement was linked to the subsequent deal with Titan. It indicated that the reasons provided for ending the earlier arrangement could be examined to determine if they were used to facilitate a more financially beneficial transaction.
Documents placed on record showed that Titan entered into a registered lease agreement and paid an interest-free refundable security deposit of around INR 85 lakh. The company also incurred additional costs towards stamp duty and registration, strengthening its claim as a lawful tenant under a formal agreement.
Godrej, however, argued that its earlier arrangement with Decathlon was conditional in nature and did not create enforceable rights over the property. It maintained that the agreement was terminated due to non-fulfilment of certain conditions and that entering into a fresh lease with Titan was a valid commercial decision taken in the normal course of business.
Titan, in its defence, submitted that it was a bona fide lessee and had no prior knowledge of the arrangement between Decathlon and Godrej. It stated that it had acted in good faith by executing a registered lease and fulfilling all financial and legal requirements associated with the transaction.
With the appointment of a court receiver, the property is now under judicial custody. This move prevents any transfer, possession change, or further development at the site until the court examines the claims in detail. The case also brings attention to the difference between preliminary agreements and registered lease deeds, especially in high-value commercial transactions where multiple parties may have competing interests.
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