The Bombay High Court has cleared the way for the revival of Swadeshi Mills Company Ltd and development of its 48-acre land parcel in Chunabhatti, Mumbai, bringing relief to thousands of former mill workers after more than two decades of legal uncertainty.
A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata on Wednesday allowed an appeal filed by Grand View Estates Pvt Ltd, a Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group company, and the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS) against a February 2026 order that had rejected a proposal to revive the company and stop its liquidation.
“We find that the revival of the company would be conducive and not detrimental to commercial morality and to the interests of the public at large,” the division bench said.
The judges noted that the revival could benefit 2,834 mill workers who had “endured tremendous loss and suffering for over two decades”.
Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1890, Swadeshi Mills was once among Mumbai’s prominent textile mills and employed nearly 3,000 workers at its peak. The company owned a large 48-acre land parcel in Chunabhatti. Financial difficulties eventually led to the company being ordered to wind up in September 2005, leaving its assets tied up in prolonged legal and liquidation proceedings.
Grand View Estates and Forbes & Company, which together hold a 53.25% stake in Swadeshi Mills, later proposed reviving the company, settling workers’ dues and developing the Chunabhatti property. However, two minority shareholders opposed the plan and sought liquidation followed by a public auction of the assets.
A single judge had rejected the revival proposal in February, describing it as a “backdoor attempt” to take control of the valuable land for real estate development.
The division bench disagreed, observing that the objecting shareholders were not backed by any investor seeking to restart the textile business or acquire the property through auction. It also highlighted that funds invested by Grand View and Forbes had remained in a bank account for more than 21 years, awaiting distribution to workers.
“In our view, this litigation by the two shareholders is nothing else but an elitist form of extortion,” the judges said.
“Grand View and Forbes, on the other hand, having invested money, are losing crores of rupees every month that the proposal remains unimplemented; the resulting delay causes them huge commercial loss,” they added.
The bench also rejected the earlier view that the revival proposal was merely a route to exploit the Chunabhatti land without auction. “Profit-making is neither a vice or something from which investors ought to be discouraged from pursuing,” the bench added.
The ruling could now unlock development of one of Mumbai’s significant former mill-land parcels while also advancing the long-pending settlement of dues owed to Swadeshi Mills workers.
Source: Hindustan Times
