After a protracted legal battle running over nearly a decade and a half, the sun has finally set on Sundew, a premium apartment building that was being built by Girish Vyas, son-in-law of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi.

Last month, the Supreme Court upheld a Mumbai High Court verdict to either demolish the 10-floor building or hand it over to the Pune Municipal Corporation.

Located on a 30,000 sq ft plot in the hi-end Prabhat Road locality, the high-rise housing 24 apartments became contentious as it was built on a plot that had been reserved for a primary school. Construction began in 1996, and was nearly complete even before the Urban Development Department subsequently changed the reservation of the plot, shifting it in gross violation of the BPMC Act. The downhill journey for the Sundew story began when Vijay Kumbhar, a journalist and RTI activist filed a petition in the Mumbai High Court challenging the change of reservation. The verdict, which was in favour of Mr Kumbhar was contested by Mr Joshi who filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.

For nearly 12 years, the deserted, semi-complete building remained a silent testimony to the ongoing legal wrangles until the proverbial long arm of the law caught up with it.

Last month, the Supreme Court gave its verdict, not only upholding the strictures passed against Mr Joshi by the High Court, but also increasing the cost to be paid to the petitioner from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 by each of the former Chief Minister and the former Urban Development Minister Ravindra Mane. The builder was directed to pay Rs 10,000.

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