HC pulls up BMC for noticing structural irregularities post Kamala Mills fire accident

The corporation argued that the irregularities came to light only after the Kamala Mills fire in 2017, which prompted a review of establishments

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has refused to entertain a batch of applications filed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seeking to revive long-pending appeals against orders that had quashed demolition notices issued for alleged illegal structures, observing that such cases cannot be reopened years later citing a subsequent incident like the 2017 Kamala Mills fire, which left 14 people dead and 55 injured.

Massive fire broke out in Kamala Mills on December 29, 2017, claiming 14 lives and injuring 55 people. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

A single-judge bench of Justice Jitendra Jain, during the hearing on Thursday, dismissed 26 applications filed by the civic body, which sought to challenge a 2009 order only in 2018, which is a delay of more than eight years. The corporation argued that the irregularities came to light only after the Kamala Mills fire in 2017, which prompted a review of establishments

During the review, the corporation found that several adverse orders passed by a sessions court setting aside demolition notices had not been challenged, allegedly because officials failed to inform their superiors about the case status and the orders.

The court, however, termed this an “internal matter” of the corporation and said litigation cannot be kept pending indefinitely over parties who had already secured favourable orders, unless collusion is alleged.

The court also flagged the issue of unreported cases as a serious concern and called for introspection in the functioning of the civic body. It suggested that the corporation put in place a system to monitor the progress of litigation pending before various courts. Criticising the civic body for its lax attitude, the court said that the action should be pre-emptive and not post such an untoward incident, clarifying that it “cannot be used as a tool for inaction and dereliction of duty by the officers of the corporation”.

At the same time, the court allowed the corporation to conduct fresh inspections and initiate action, in accordance with law, if any illegalities are found during present-day inspections.

The court directed the corporation to file an action report on the 2018 show-cause notices by August 12, 2026, and said strict action must be taken against those found responsible. It added that if collusion between private parties and civic officials is found, the corporation should initiate appropriate action, including criminal proceedings, and the police should register FIRs based on the corporation’s complaint.

The court, in its concluding remarks, said citizens have high expectations from the corporation’s newly appointed administrator and expressed hope that the administration would act firmly and responsibly.

“Citizens of the commercial capital of the country have high expectations from the newly appointed administrator of the corporation, who has created history. I hope she would live upto the expectations, not let citizens down and would make us all proud”, the court said.