Court extends freeze in Sonu Sood construction row

The Bombay High Court extended relief to actor Sonu Sood till January 13 referring to the civil court order granting interim protection. Sonu Sood argued in his petition that no illegal construction has been done as alleged by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court extended a civil court order permitting interim protection to actor Sonu Sood till January 13. The order prevented coercive action by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) against the alleged unlawful structural changes brought in by the actor in a residential building in suburban Juhu without permission.

Last week, Sood had approached the HC , challenging the order passed by a civil court in December dismissing the suit against the BMC's action as well as the notice issued by BMC in October 2020. Three weeks were granted to him to file an appeal and stay its order by the civil court.

The BMC had lodged a complaint with the Juhu police on January 4 in the matter. It was stated in the complaint that the actor has converted Shakti Sagar Building, which is a residential building, into a hotel without permission.

The complaint letter was sent to the police after the BMC inspected the building and found that Sood had allegedly not complied with the requisitions and was continuing unauthorised construction even after the notice was served to him in October last year.

The petition filed by the actor through advocate D P Singh argued that no illegal or unauthorized construction has been done."The petitioner (Sood) has not made any changes in the building that warrant permission from the BMC. Only those changes that are allowed under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act have been done," Singh said.

The petition has sought that the court quashes and set aside the notice issued by the BMC in October last year, and an interim relief of no coercive action to be initiated against the actor.

Last year, after receiving the notice from the BMC, the actor approached a civil court, but failed to get relief following which he filed an appeal in the High Court. The police are yet to register FIR in the case.

Sood, who is known for his roles in films like "Dabangg", "Jodha Akbar" and "Simmba", came into the spotlight last year for his philanthropy work in helping migrants reach their homes during the COVID-19 lockdown.

With inputs from PTI