Bombay High Court Revives PIL on Potholes and Poor Road Conditions
Credits: Narsi Benwal | Original News
Once again, the long-pending PIL on potholes and dismal road conditions, which plague Mumbai and other districts of Maharashtra, was given a new shape by the Bombay High Court. This judgment was passed during the hearing on a contempt petition filed by Advocate Ruju Thakkar before the court for the non-compliance of the orders passed so far on maintaining proper road conditions.
Background of the Bombay High Court Case:
On 8th October 2024, a division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar heard the contempt petition. It presented its argument that after the repeated directions of the court, the authorities like the BMC and other governmental agencies, for which the concern of the court is voice, had failed to improve the condition of roads and, therefore, result in dangerous roads for travelling and public till now.
The court, while disposing of the contempt petition, expressed anxiety about the fundamental rights as also the larger public interest involved in it. The bench stated that the main PIL on this issue would be revived, and all respondents, including the BMC and state authorities, were directed to file compliance reports regarding the conditions of roads.
Earlier Bombay High Court Case Orders
This is a long judicial history, with several benches of the Bombay High Court passing orders over the years. Perhaps the most important one was in May last year, when a bench led by Justice Abhay Oka-now a Judge in the Supreme Court-came out with a detailed judgment calling upon the state as well as civic bodies to pothole-free roads. The judgment was in pursuance of a suo motu PIL instituted in the year 2013, which culminated from repeated complaints of potholes surfacing every monsoon.
As of 2018, the court again issued directions to keep the streets, roads, and footpaths in a proper condition, since the problem persisted even after its previous judgments. The orders were given following judgments dated 24th February 2018 and 12th April 2018 by which the court had observed the deplorable condition of roads all over the state. These judgments formed a part of yet another suo motu PIL that dealt with the very same issue.
Contempt Petition and Latest Developments
In 2019 Advocate Ruju Thakkar filed a contempt petition accusing the authorities of non-compliance with court orders. The court judgments acknowledged that challenges of the implementation of orders continued but imputed that too many intervening and third-party petitions had diverted attention away from the central issue of road maintenance.
However, the court states that the issue at hand needs to be disposed of as soon as possible due to public safety concerns and has ordered the revival of the main PIL, which will be heard on December 3, 2024. The court has also requested all respondents file their compliance reports, in which case progress would be toward a concrete resolution.
Conclusion
The decision of Bombay High Court to revive the public interest litigation on potholes and poor road conditions in Mumbai, by extension, other regions of Maharashtra, marks a significant step toward addressing the chronic issue. In doing so, this should push authorities to take action to create safer roads for citizens as integral to their basic rights. The next hearing is scheduled to be held in December 2024, and the public still hopes that long-term solutions to the pothole menace will be implemented.
Case Title: Ruju R. Thakker vs. State Of Maharashtra And Ors. (CONPP/6/2019)