India, April 29 -- The Supreme Court has directed Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to hand over the plot housing a bungalow on Pali Hill, Bandra that served as its former chairman Anil Manibhai Naik's residence for over two decades to more than 15 co-owners.

The conglomerate had taken the prime residential property on lease from the Kothari family and other co-owners in the 1940s. While the formal lease expired in 1970, the landlord group initiated eviction proceedings in 2001 after terminating the tenancy.

During pendency of the litigation, L&T acquired a 7% undivided share in the property from one co-owner and later increased its holding to 29.5%. On this basis, it argued that it had become a co-owner of the plot measuring a little less than an ...