Bombay HC Quashes Rs 15.45 Lakh Fine for Bicycle Parked in Society Staircase

The Bombay High Court in Fort has set aside recovery proceedings amounting to Rs 15,45,730 imposed by a Mumbai co-operative housing society against a member for parking a bicycle in the building staircase.

The long-running dispute was triggered by a bicycle valued at Rs 11,000, which the housing society alleged had caused encroachment in the common staircase area over a period of nearly 11 years.

Delivering the judgment on August 25, 2026, Justice Sandeep V Marne ruled that the society's punitive action was arbitrary in the peculiar facts of the case. The court noted that while housing societies have the right to protect their common areas, managing committees cannot enforce unreasonable or disproportionate measures.

The court observed that societies cannot exercise their administrative powers to levy arbitrary penalties on residents, cautioning managing bodies against such excessive actions.

Along with quashing the recovery proceedings, the High Court directed the housing society to refund an amount of Rs 3,86,433 that had previously been deposited by the petitioners during the course of the dispute.