building code violations prosecution India

In G. Mohandas vs The State of Kerala, the Supreme Court upheld the continuation of criminal proceedings against a private building owner accused of conspiring with municipal officials to construct a four-storey commercial building in a prohibited zone under the guise of renovation. Despite obtaining a renovation permit, Mohandas demolished the old building and constructed a new one in violation of rules. The Court held that the act was part of a calculated conspiracy involving misuse of permits and deliberate defiance of stop memos. It dismissed Mohandas’s appeal to quash proceedings and emphasized that regularisation does not erase criminality.