Bombay High Court quashes Mumbai Port Authority rent hikes

The Bombay High Court has quashed retrospective rent hikes implemented by the Mumbai Port Authority. In a ruling involving 145 writ petitions, a Division Bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande held that the authority could not sustain the retrospective fixation of rates.

The Court determined that rent revisions are governed by a “Compromise Proposal” which remains valid for petitioners up to March 31, 2024. Emphasizing that state-owned property must be managed in a “just, fair and reasonable” manner, the Court noted that the Port Trust, as an instrumentality of the State, does not have absolute discretion to implement exorbitant rates through tariff orders.