3 min readMumbaiApr 9, 2026 10:57 PM IST In a setback to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the Bombay High Court set aside the “arbitrary and illegal” penalty demand notices issued by it between 2014 and 2019, ordering refunds of over Rs 700 crore deposited by various entities including Reliance Industries Ltd. The HC also refused MMRDA’s request to stay the operation of its ruling and granted 90 days to the authority to refund the deposited penalty. The notices were issued to recover penalty dues on lease premiums for additional built-up area in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) lands owned by MMRDA. The court ordered refund of Rs 646.77 crore to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Rs 52.8 crore to Sunteck Realty Limited (formerly Starlight Systems), Rs 8.9 crore to hotel developer Shree Naman Hotels Pvt Ltd and Rs 22.6 crore to Indian Newspaper Society. A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam allowed pleas by four entities argued through senior advocate Vikram Nankani and advocates Ankit Lohia and Sujay Kantawala, and …