Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani to vacate Rs 15000 crore Antilia? The lavish mansion is built on land once owned by..., Ambanis bought it for just Rs...

India.com

26-04-2025

Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani's Antilia is one of the most expensive private homes in the world.
The Antilia, the lavish mansion home of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, and his wife Nita Ambani, is one of the most expensive private residences in the world, valued at a whopping Rs 15000 crore (around USD 1.74 billion). However, the land upon which Ambani's grand 27-storey stands today originally belonged to an orphanage, and the land deal has been mired in controversy for nearly decades since the Reliance Industries chairman purchased it in 2005. What was there before Antilia?
According to details, Antilia was built on a piece of land where the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Yateemkhana — an orphanage built by a wealthy businessman Sir Fazalbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim– used to stand. Currimbhoy, who belonged to the Khoja Muslim community, had built the orphanage in 1895 for orphans and destitute children of his community.
Over the years, the Currimbhoy orphanage came under the control and management of the Maharashtra state Wakf board, who received permission to sell it Mukesh Ambani-owned Muffin-Antilia Commercial Private Limited in 2002. How much did Mukesh Ambani pay for Antilia land?
According to reports, Mukesh Ambani paid a mere $2.5 million for the land against a market value of $18 million. Later, the Ambanis sought permission to build their grand home on the property, the building plan was approved by the BMC in 2003, and construction began in 2006.
A recent affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court has claimed that the opulent mansion was built on land that was 'illegally' sold to Mukesh Ambani in 2005.
As per a report by Livelaw, the affidavit submitted by Sandesh C Tadvi, joint secretary to the Minority Development Department and acting CEO of Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs, states that a 'mischief' was committed by the then chairman and CEO, when he ratified the sale of the orphanage land to Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on March 9, 2025.
Earlier, a Bombay High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, in an order dated July 21, 2017, had directed the State Board of Wakfs to clarify their stance on challenging the Charity commissioner's permission on the sale of the orphanage land. Antilia legal battle
Notably, the then Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs deemed the transaction illegal and sent a notice to Antilia Commercial citing violation of Section 52 of the Wakf Act, 1995, which deals with the recovery of Wakf property transferred in contravention of Section 51 that bars the sale of any immovable Wakf property without the sanction of the Wakf Board.
The notice was challenged before a Wakf Tribunal on April 22, 2004, and the CEO of the State Board of Wakfs settled the issue with the Trust during the suit, and the agreement was reached that the trustees would accept that the land had indeed been Wakf property. The tribunal ruled that an annual contribution be paid to the Wakf Board, and the trustees subsequently deposited Rs 16 lakh, as per Section 72 of Waqf Act, 1995,
Notably, the trust had stated that the land on which Antilia stand today, was not a Wakf property, but later retracted their claim.
In a recent statement AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, claimed the land on which Ambani's Antilia was built, was only meant to be used for charitable purposes, however, the Trust violated that mandate by selling the estate to Mukesh Ambani.