Authority: Supreme Court of India

Order Date: 21-07-2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: Prashant Jayant Raul & Anr. (Petition No. 23743/2026) filed a Special Leave Petition (C) arising from the impugned final judgment and order dated 06-03-2026 in PIL No.63/2024 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay.
  • Respondents: Pimpri‑Chinchwad Municipal Corporation & Others.
  • Interim Applications: IA No. 198247/2026 (exemption from filing O.T.) and IA No. 199227/2026 (permission to file additional documents/facts/annexures).
  • Coram: Chief Justice, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Justice Vipul M. Pancholi.
  • Counsel for Petitioners: Ms. Uttara Babbar (Senior Advocate), Mr. N. Sai Vinod, AOR Ms. Kanu Garg, Adv. Mr. Savyasachi Narayanan.
  • Counsel for Respondents: Not listed.
  • Background: The disputed parcel of land was originally allotted to Maharashtra Metro Corporation for compulsory afforestation. Subsequently, the land was handed over to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for use as a VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) godown, Regional Training Centre, and storage of Electronic Voter Machine ballot boxes. Petitioners seek to have the land treated as a public park and to obtain access for recreational purposes.

Court Findings & Reasoning

1. The Court observed that the land is presently occupied by the ECI for critical election‑related storage and training functions.

2. In the Court’s considered opinion, no mandamus can be issued to vacate the land from the ECI and to declare it a public park, as such an order would interfere with the security and operational requirements of the election machinery.

3. The Court directed that the appropriate remedy for the petitioners is to approach the ECI directly and seek limited access for recreational purposes, ensuring that the security and safety of the godown are not compromised.

4. The Court expressed no doubt that the ECI would consider the petitioners’ representation sympathetically, in consultation with the municipal authorities.

Final Outcome

  • The Special Leave Petition is disposed of.
  • All pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.
  • The order was digitally signed by Sachin Kumar Srivastava on 2026.07.21 at 18:27:03 IST (signature not verified).
  • The order was signed by the Registrar‑cum‑PS, Arjun Bisht, and Deputy Registrar, Preethi Dileep Kumar.

Topics: Land Use, Election Commission, Public Parks