MUMBAI, Dec. 8 -- The Bombay High Court has ordered a fresh verification of whether a premises inside the historic Art Deco Marlboro Housing Society on Pedder Road can legally be treated as an independent flat - a question that has triggered a deep divide among residents. The court found that authorities had granted membership to a resident without checking if the premises existed as a separate unit in the sanctioned building plan. The dispute stems from petitions filed by residents Uday Dalal, Ajay Biyani and Rina Pritish Nandy, who argued that when Marlboro House was registered as a housing society in 1996, it comprised six flats. The premises is, however, now treated with a seventh flat, they said, never appeared in the sanctioned plan and was originally described as a 150-square-foot servant room attached to another flat. Despite this, during a period when the society was under an Administrator, Ruvin Realty Pvt Ltd sold the room to Prachi Agarwal, daughter-in-law of resident Rajendra Agarwal, following which a new share certificate and membership were issued in her name. According to the petitioners, this was not an ordinary residential transaction but an attempt to expand voting strength in the small society. They pointed to a provisional voters' list that suddenly showed nine names, including those of Prachi Agarwal, Kushal Agarwal and an entity named Capital Mind. To them, this indicated a deliberate effort to create an artificial majority ahead of upcoming committee elections. They argued that membership cannot be granted for premises not recognised as a flat in the sanctioned building plan and that the Administrator had no authority to process the application without placing it before the managing committee. Senior advocates Aashish Kamat and Mayur Khandeparkar, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that converting a servant room into an independent flat required prior approval from the planning authority, and no such approval existed. Opposing the plea, senior advocate Anil Sakhare, for Prachi Agarwal, said the premises were self-contained and therefore qualified as a flat under the law. Senior advocate Girish Godbole, for the society, relied on municipal assessment records and a general body resolution supporting her membership. Justice Amit Borkar held that both the deputy registrar and divisional joint registrar granted membership without examining the sanctioned building plan, which is mandatory. The court ruled that even if a space appears capable of residential use, it cannot be recognised as a flat unless reflected in the sanctioned plan. The court directed the deputy registrar to obtain the sanctioned plan, verify changes and compare them with municipal records within 12 weeks....