The Defence Ministry on Friday filed a title suit in the Bombay High Court, claiming ownership and possession over the land on which the controversial 31 storey Adarsh Housing Society stands in the upscale Colaba in South Mumbai.

The Ministry has alleged in the suit that the residential complex which has over 100 flats including some owned by retired defence officers, has been constructed illegally and unlawfully. The MoD has reiterated that it is the sole owner of the land which was transferred to Adarsh society by fraud, collusion and connivance on the part of some society members, politicians and bureaucrats of the State Government. The suit is likely to come up for hearing in due course of time.

Earlier, the Defence Ministry had sent a notice to the Maharashtra government claiming ownership of the Adarash Society land. The MoD filed the title suit today in the Bombay Court, eight months after the judicial panel appointed by the state government, concluded in its interim report that the controversial land belongs to the state government.