Court Holds Section 22(1)(b) of Maharashtra Slum Areas Act Does Not Bar Execution Proceedings Initiated Before Property Declared a Slum
In a significant judgment delivered on September 7, 2026, the Bombay High Court clarified the legal position regarding the execution of eviction decrees when the subject property is declared a slum area after the initiation of execution proceedings. The Court, presided over by Justice Arun R. Pedneker, ruled that the subsequent declaration of a property as a slum area under the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 (“Slum Act”) does not impede the execution of an eviction decree if the execution proceedings were instituted prior to such declaration.
The case, titled Sachin and Another v. Miss Flymi Sadanandan and Another, arose from an eviction suit filed by the respondents in 2007. The respondents secured an eviction decree in 2015, which was upheld on appeal. Execution proceedings commenced in 2016. However, during the pendency of these proceedings, the property was declared a slum area in December 2018 under Section 4(1) of the Slum Act.
The petitioners, judgment-debtors in the case, challenged the execution of the decree on the ground that Section 22(1)(b) of the Slum Act mandates prior permission from the Competent Authority before executing any eviction decree relating to slum properties. They contended that since the property was declared a slum after the execution application was filed but before execution was completed, permission should be required to proceed.
The Court rejected this contention. It emphasized the wording of Section 22(1)(b), which bars institution of eviction proceedings or execution of eviction decrees without prior permission of the Competent Authority only if such proceedings are instituted after the declaration of the property as a slum area. Since the execution proceedings in this case were instituted in 2016, two years before the 2018 slum declaration, the bar under Section 22(1)(b) did not apply retrospectively.
In its oral judgment, the Court distinguished the present facts from prior rulings such as Gauri Pannalal Prajapati v. Harishankar Dudhnath Yadav, where the issue involved whether the property was declared a slum before the execution application was instituted. The Court clarified that the subsequent declaration of the property as a slum area cannot retrospectively invalidate the execution proceedings or require fresh permission for their continuation.
The Court upheld the orders of the Small Causes Court and its Appellate Bench, which had dismissed the judgment-debtors’ objections under Section 47 of the Civil Procedure Code. The petition challenging these orders was dismissed, with the Court continuing interim relief for a limited period.
This ruling provides clarity to landlords and decree holders that eviction decrees and their executions, instituted before a property’s declaration as a slum area, will not be stalled due to the subsequent notification of the property as a slum. It limits the applicability of Section 22(1)(b) to only those proceedings initiated after such a declaration, thereby preventing retrospective application of the slum law’s restrictions.
The Court has scheduled a further hearing on October 5, 2026, but the present judgment settles the question of executability of eviction decrees vis-à-vis slum area declarations effectively.
Bottom Line:
Execution of eviction decree - Subsequent declaration of suit property as a Slum Area under Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 - Requirement of obtaining permission under Section 22(1)(b) of the Slum Act is not applicable to execution proceedings instituted prior to such declaration.
Statutory provision(s):
Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 Section 22(1)(b), Civil Procedure Code, 1908 Section 47
Sachin v. Flymi Sadanandan, (Bombay) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2973985
