Mumbai couple stage divorce to secure flat

A petition filed in the Bombay High Court has alleged that a couple showed themselves as divorced to apply for a flat constructed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) despite owning another within the city limits.
The petition will come up for hearing on September 7.

The respondents, including MHADA, have been asked to file replies by then.
The petition alleged that Sham and Saroj Gajbhiye had shown themselves as having divorced in 2008 even though they were still living together as a legally-wedded couple to claim a flat in a MHADA scheme in suburban Andheri.
MHADA rules make it mandatory for the applicants to declare that neither they nor members of their immediate family own any flat in the city.

The petition has been filed by Subhas Savaslar who was put on wait list by MHADA. He alleged that the couple had falsely declared they had divorced because Sham Gajbhiye owned a flat in suburban Bandra.

The petitioner had initially filed a complaint with MHADA alleging that the couple had faked divorce to get the flat. During the investigation Saroj informed MHADA authorities that the flat she was living in belonged to her sister-in-law and that she did not own it.