NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday took a stern view of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation‘s (BMC) failure to clear encroachments from land reserved for a BEST bus stand in Mumbai, initiating contempt proceedings against the civic body’s commissioner.A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued a show-cause notice to the commissioner, asking why contempt action should not be taken against him for failing to implement the court’s earlier orders.The court also rejected the commissioner’s request for more time, imposed costs of Rs 5 lakh and directed that salary payments to him and his staff be withheld until the notice is decided.Questioning the conduct of municipal officials, CJI Kant suggested that they could be working in collusion with those occupying the land illegally.“Does it not show that your officers are colluding? We will send him to jail and then he will understand the sanctity of the Supreme Court order. Is he obliging us?” the CJI was quoted as saying by Bar & Bench.Justice Bagchi made it clear that the civic body could not seek further relief without first implementing the court’s directions.“Follow the order and after complying with the order, file an application for appropriate steps. But as of now, there is contempt,” he said.
BMC told to clear encroachments
The dispute concerns a plot earmarked for a BEST bus station, over which the BMC and a private developer have been locked in litigation for several years.In an order dated August 13, 2025, the Supreme Court directed the developer to hand over vacant and peaceful possession of 3,400 square metres of land, including an administrative building, to the civic body for the bus stand.The BMC was instructed to take over the project and make the facility operational within three months. It was also directed to continue efforts to remove encroachments from the property in accordance with the law.However, the civic body’s failure to clear the occupants prompted the court to raise concerns on November 13, 2025. It then sought a personal affidavit from the commissioner, asking him to provide details of the occupants, eviction notices issued and any claims of tenancy or ownership over the land.The matter returned to the court on Tuesday after the commissioner sought an extension to comply with the directions. The Bench rejected the request and imposed costs of ₹5 lakh.Justice Bagchi also directed that the commissioner and his staff would not receive their salaries until the show-cause notice was decided.“You will not be drawing a salary till the 1st of December 2026. So comply before that. You come here and then you can draw your salary,” he said.The bench also took exception to the BMC’s explanation that its officers needed Marathi-language documents translated into English before they could act on the court’s directions.Justice Bagchi questioned the claim, pointing out that the officer who submitted the affidavit was himself a Marathi-speaking official.
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“The officer who filed the affidavit is Dr Tambe. Do you want us to believe that they do not know Marathi?” he asked.CJI Kant went further, suggesting that the civic body’s inaction amounted to a deliberate breach of the court’s directions, allegedly with the support of those occupying the land.“This is an absolutely mischievous breach of the directions of the Supreme Court, with the direct connivance and support of the encroachers. If you want us, we can write all of this in the order itself,” he said.(With inputs from Bar & Bench)
