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The Bombay High Court has heard a writ petition filed by Techno Freshworld LLP challenging a stop-work notice issued by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) in connection with a redevelopment project at Adarsh Nagar, Worli, Mumbai. The dispute centres on whether a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Indian Navy was mandatory for the redevelopment, which includes a rehabilitation building for 72 families and a sale component. MHADA halted construction and withheld the Occupation Certificate after the Navy objected to the project’s proximity to INS Trata. The developer argued that the project had received multiple approvals between 2022 and 2025 and fell outside the 50-metre restriction introduced under a 2022 Ministry of Defence circular. The Navy contended that the project was within 500 metres of the defence establishment and raised national security concerns linked to high-rise construction near operational naval facilities.
The Bombay High Court has examined a dispute involving MHADA, the Indian Navy and developer Techno Freshworld LLP over a redevelopment project at Adarsh Nagar in Worli, Mumbai, where construction permissions granted over several years were later challenged over the absence of a Naval No Objection Certificate. Advertisement
The writ petition, heard by a division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe, challenges a stop-work notice issued by MHADA on 24 October 2025 and the subsequent refusal to grant an Occupation Certificate for the rehabilitation component of the project. The judgment was delivered on 5 May 2026.
The redevelopment concerns Building No. 41 on land bearing C S No. 209 (Part), measuring about 1,601.25 sq m in Worli. The property, originally developed by MHADA for industrial workers, comprises 72 residential units occupied by members of Prabhadevi Indraprastha Co-operative Housing Society Ltd.
According to court records, the building, constructed in the early 1950s, had become dilapidated, prompting the society to undertake redevelopment under Regulation 33(5) of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Greater Mumbai, 2034. Techno Freshworld LLP was appointed developer through agreements executed in 2022, including a tripartite arrangement with MHADA.
The developer stated before the court that it had obtained Intimation of Approval in July 2022 and multiple Commencement Certificates between 2023 and 2025 for both the rehabilitation and sale components. The project comprises two buildings a rehabilitation tower for the existing 72 occupants and a separate sale building.
The petitioner argued that approvals were granted when the Ministry of Defence circular dated 23 December 2022 was operational, restricting mandatory defence NOCs to projects within 50 metres of specified defence establishments. The developer relied on a report prepared by the Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Chennai, which recorded the project site at approximately 528 metres from INS Trata.
Court records show that the old structure was demolished after all 72 residents were shifted to transit accommodation between September and November 2022. The rehabilitation building has since been completed, while the sale component has reached an advanced stage of construction.
The dispute escalated after MHADA informed the developer in July 2025 that Naval authorities had sought a stop-work notice. Although MHADA subsequently issued a full Commencement Certificate for the sale building in August 2025, it later rejected the developer’s application for an Occupation Certificate on the ground that a Naval NOC had not been obtained.
The Navy opposed the petition, contending that the redevelopment site falls within approximately 280 metres of INS Trata Site-II and therefore requires mandatory security clearance under Ministry of Defence guidelines issued in 2011 and 2015. The defence authorities argued that high-rise construction near operational naval facilities could create direct line-of-sight and surveillance risks.
The Navy further maintained that the 2022 circular, which reduced the NOC requirement to 50 metres, had subsequently been kept in abeyance in February 2023, thereby reviving earlier guidelines prescribing restrictions within 500 metres of defence establishments.
The developer, however, argued that the earlier circulars stood superseded once the 2022 circular was issued and that its development rights had crystallised after permissions were granted during the intervening period. The petitioner also alleged inconsistent enforcement of defence clearance requirements for nearby projects around INS Trata.
The matter forms part of a continuing series of disputes before the Bombay High Court concerning defence NOCs for redevelopment projects in Mumbai, particularly in areas surrounding naval establishments in Worli and Prabhadevi.
5th Jun, 2025
25th May, 2023
11th May, 2023
27th Apr, 2023
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