Man moves court against AAI’s eviction notice

A senior citizen, who claims he owns 28.52 acres of land near Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, has approached the Bombay high court challenging the validity of a notice issued by the eviction officer of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for evicting him from the property.

A division bench of justice SA Bobde and justice RD Dhanuka has posted the petition filed by 82-year-old Edward Paul Machado for further hearing on February 22.

Acting on a plea filed by AAI, eviction officer Pawan Kumar Nagpal had on January 3 issued the notice to Machado asking him to show cause, why he should not be evicted from the property, which is required for developing the international airport.

Machado, who claims he owns the property by adverse possession for more than six decades, contended the AAI had no jurisdiction to issue him the eviction notice, as he was owner of the property and hence could not be dispossessed by adopting summary proceedings under the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994.

The AAI on the other hand claims that the senior citizen was in unauthorised possession of the property and was illegally cultivating nearly 7 acres of the land.

According to Machado’s petition, the AAI has already taken forcible possession of around 18.52 acres of land from him in July 2009 and the balance of around 10 acres of land was still in his possession.

After the AAI allegedly forcibly took over part of his property, Machado filed a suit before the city civil court in 2009, and acting on his plea the court has on May 7, 2011 restrained the AAI from dispossessing him without adopting due course of law.

The AAI issued the notice to the 82-year-old in view of the civil court’s order directing them to follow due legal course for taking over the property.