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Illegality is inherently incurable, the Bombay High Court observed while refusing relief to a Pune school challenging an order to demolish an unauthorised structure it had constructed.

- HT Correspondent

MUMBAI:

A bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata, in the order dated May 9, observed that merely because the educational institution caters to around 2,000 students, the court cannot consider directing the authorities to regularise the illegal structure.

The bench said there is this common belief in Maharashtra that one can construct structures illegally and without permission and subsequently seek regularisation, but "illegality is incurable".

Aryan World School, a charitable educational institution, had moved the court against the Pune Metropolitan Development Authority's April 17 order to demolish unauthorised construction on the premises.

The petitioner claimed it runs a reputed school in Bhilarewadi for Classes 1 to 10 and has around 2,000 students.

The plea said the demolition order was passed without granting the school management a hearing.

The school's counsel, Neeta Karnik, argued that the structure was constructed based on a no objection certificate (NOC) issued in October 2007 by a gram panchayat, the relevant authority at the time.

The PMRDA rejected the school's application for regularisation of the structure this year.