MUMBAI, July 29 -- The Bombay high court has directed the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to take appropriate steps to demolish an illegal six-storeyed building at Govindwadi in Kalyan within two months. A demolition notice was issued to the building in August 2024, but no action was taken against it thereafter, which could embolden others to construct similar buildings without first obtaining the necessary permissions, the court said, The division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor was hearing a petition filed by Safwan Jafar Hussain Sayyad, a local resident. On July 23, 2024, Sayyad had filed a complaint with the ward officer of ward 3C and the KDMC commissioner, claiming a ground-plus-six storeyed building, Siyam Villa, had been constructed illegally without any planning permission, and requested the civic authorities to take appropriate action against it. Accordingly, on August 6, 2024, KDMC officials issued a show cause notice to the builder, asking them to explain during a personal hearing if the said building was a legal structure and provide supporting documents. Failure to provide an explanation and documents would result in appropriate legal action, the builder was told. Since Sayyad's complaint was not addressed over the next two months, in October 2024, he submitted a representation to civic officials and subsequently approached the high court, contending that the inaction made it clear that KDMC officers were hand-in-glove with the developer. Section 260 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act mandates that the municipal bodies must take action against illegally constructed buildings and accordingly, the KDMC should take the demolition notice to its logical end, the plea stated. The developer resisted the petition, contending that they had applied to the KDMC for regularisation of the building in July 2024 and since the application was pending, there was no question of taking any action during pendency of the plea. Being owners of the plot on which the building stood, they had constructed the building adhering to Floor Space Index norms and pursuant to their application for its regularisation, the assistant commissioner, KDMC, had issued a notice dated February 24, 2025, granting them a personal hearing, the developer said. However, responding to a court query, the developer's counsel conceded that no planning permission had been obtained before commencing construction of the building. "The said building being wholly illegal, must first be demolished, and after which, the developers if they so desire may apply for a permission, and if such permission is sanctioned, carry on construction in accordance with such permission," the court said. The bench directed the KDMC to execute the demolition notice issued in August 2024 within two months by following due processes of law....