PIL challenges closure, proposed demolition of New Mahim municipal school

The petition alleges that the BMC acted arbitrarily while shutting down the school in May 2025. It invokes Articles 14 and 21A of the Constitution and the Right to Education Act, 2009, and argues that nearly 2,500 children have been deprived of access to their neighbourhood municipal school

Mumbai: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Bombay High Court on Wednesday challenging the closure and proposed demolition of the New Mahim Public Municipal School based on a December 2024 structural audit, although a subsequent independent structural audit found that the school building could be repaired and did not need to be demolished.

Around 1,000 students were enrolled in the school during the 2024-25 academic year before it was shut down, triggering protests from parents and students and demands for reopening the school (HT Photo)

The petition alleges that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) acted arbitrarily while shutting down the school in May 2025. It invokes Articles 14 and 21A of the Constitution and the Right to Education Act, 2009, and argues that nearly 2,500 children, particularly those from economically weaker sections, have been deprived of access to their neighbourhood municipal school.

The petitioners include Smruti Raut, a postgraduate student, social activist, and daughter of veteran environmentalist Girish Raut; senior journalist and Forum for Justice secretary Sudhir Ramchandra Hegiste; Teachers’ Democratic Front president Janardan Jangale; and Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal secretary Jayant Prabhakar Diwan. The respondents include the BMC, its Chief Education Officer, the Assistant Commissioner of G-North ward and the state government.

The New Mahim Public Municipal School, located on Sonawala Agiary Marg, was established in 1965 on land reserved under the Development Plan for a municipal school. The school has a capacity of around 2,500 students and provides education from class I to XII in Marathi, Hindi, English, Kannada and Urdu. It is also associated with Avishkar, an institution known for experiments in Marathi theatre, which has several prominent theatre personalities as members.

Inconsistency in reports

The central issue raised in the PIL is the alleged inconsistency in the BMC’s assessment of the school building’s structural condition.

According to documents obtained by the petitioners under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a meeting held on December 5, 2024 involving representatives of the BMC’s structural inspection committee and civic engineering officials categorised the building as C-2, indicating it required major structural repairs. However, proceedings of another meeting held on December 19 stated that there was no alternative but to demolish the entire building.

The petition questions how the building’s status could change within 14 days without any fresh structural audit, technical assessment or reasoned explanation. It also cites the report of a subsequent structural audit, conducted by Shashank Mehendale and Associates on September 23, 2025, which classified the building as C-2A, and recommended that it be vacated temporarily and the necessary repairs be carried out under the supervision of a repair consultant within six months.

However, on November 10, 2025, the BMC issued a press note claiming that an audit by its School Infrastructure Cell had classified the building as C-1, indicating it required immediate demolition.

The petitioners allege that the civic body failed to adequately disclose or consider the September 2025 report by Shashank Mehendale and Associates. It also questions why the school continued to function until May 2025 if the building had allegedly been deemed dangerous in December 2024.

Permitting students and staff to occupy the premises for several months was inconsistent with the claim that the structure posed an imminent danger, the petitioners said.

They also stated that they issued a legal notice on June 10, 2026, calling upon the authorities to act on the C-2A structural audit, sanction funds and undertake necessary repairs to make the school safe and operational. According to the PIL, no effective action followed.

Protests and assurances

The PIL is accompanied by 16 newspaper reports published between January 2025 and February 2026, which demonstrate sustained public opposition and concerns over the school’s closure, structural audits and the decline of municipal educational infrastructure. It cites a March 2026 representation by Mumbai Rakshan Samiti which sought repairs and restoration of the school in its existing building.

Corporator Yeshwant Killedar raised the issue in the BMC house in April 2026, arguing that the building could be retained after repairs rather than being reconstructed. The issue was also raised by BMC Education Committee chairperson Rajeshree Rajesh Shirwadkar, the PIL says.

The petition also refers to a statement by education minister Dada Bhuse, who claimed that no municipal school would be closed and that the New Mahim school would be reopened if found structurally safe.

The petitioners contend that despite the assurances and the C-2A report, the school remains closed.

Mori Road school precedent

The petitioners cite the nearby Mahim Mori Road Municipal School as a precedent. The school was demolished in 2020, but its reconstruction tender was reportedly issued only in November 2025. The prolonged delay demonstrates that New Mahim School students could similarly remain without a permanent neighbourhood school for years if the existing building is demolished, the PIL says.

It also raises concerns over plot number 646, which the petitioners state was reserved under the Development Plan for a municipal school and public playground. Construction of two highrise residential buildings was subsequently permitted on the reserved land, resulting in loss of public educational and recreational infrastructure.

The petitioners argue that the issue extends beyond one school and point at a wider pattern of neglect of municipal education, wherein schools are closed or demolished without timely reconstruction and land reserved for public educational purposes is allegedly diverted for private development.