The Bombay High Court criticized the Maharashtra Tourism Department Corporation (MTDC) for its arbitrary actions of issuing possession notices to hotels that had leased properties in various tourist destinations in the state. The court granted the involved parties the authority to select an arbitrator and scheduled a hearing for the petitions on May 24.The vacation bench of the Bombay High Court reprimanded the MTDC for its arbitrary conduct, specifically the issuance of possession notices to hotels that had leased properties in different tourist destinations across the state. Advocates representing the corporation assured the court that they had no intention of taking possession of the mentioned properties. Consequently, the court allowed the parties to mutually determine the arbitrator for the case and set the hearing for May 24.Two hotel owners, whose leases for the properties were initially granted in 1990 for a duration of 30 years, approached the High Court after the MTDC declined to renew the leases. The affected hotels are located in Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala, Matheran, Ganeshpuri, Panchgani, and Jalgaon.The hotels had applied for a 30-year lease extension, which the corporation initially accepted. However, on May 10 and 11, the MTDC issued notices to both hotels, rejecting the lease renewals and demanding the immediate handover of the premises. The advocates representing Tanna Hotels and Om Associates, the two affected firms with hotels in Mahabaleshwar and Jalgaon, respectively, argued on May 22 before the division bench of Justice Abhay Ahuja and Justice MM Sathaye that the notices were arbitrary and should be invalidated.According to the petitioners' advocates, Tanna Hotels and Om Associates obtained land on lease from the MTDC in 1990 and constructed hotel complexes. As the lease term was expiring in 2020, they had communicated with the MTDC requesting lease renewals and had also paid the necessary fees in 2017 and 2019, respectively, to initiate the renewal process.The bench was informed that the corporation granted interim leases to both hotels in October 2020 and imposed certain conditions for renewal, which were complied with within 15 days. However, the renewal process was not completed, and reminders were sent in April 2023.To the surprise of the leaseholders, the corporation issued notices demanding the surrender of the land, warning of a forceful takeover if they failed to comply. Furthermore, the leaseholders were not allowed to invoke the arbitration clause of the lease.After hearing the arguments, the bench expressed dissatisfaction with the MTDC for its failure to follow proper procedures, such as providing a six-month prior notice to the leaseholders to assess the status of the land and granting them an opportunity to be heard. Advocates representing the MTDC assured the bench, based on instructions from Sanjay Dhekane, senior manager of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Limited, that they had no intention of taking possession of the subject properties.Taking the corporation's response into account, the bench permitted the parties to mutually select an arbitrator for the case and scheduled the hearing for the petitions on May 24.