States » WestPosted at: Sep 22 2026 6:38PM


Maha: HC's Nagpur Bench pulls up NMC over bulldozer action guidelines

Nagpur, Sep 22 (UNI) The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has questioned the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC)'s claim that its officials were unaware of the Supreme Court's detailed guidelines governing demolition and "bulldozer" actions, observing that the civic body could have easily accessed the apex court's orders through its official website or sought legal advice before undertaking such actions.
The division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas on Monday was hearing two petitions (Nos. 1600 and 1601 of 2025) filed by 69-year-old Mehrunissa Shamim Khan, mother of Fahim Khan, the prime accused in the Aurangzeb's Tomb riots case, and 96-year-old Abdul Hafiz, whose property was partially demolished after a relative was named as an accused in the Mahal area, Nagpur riots.
The court's remarks came while examining the legality of the demolition drive carried out by the civic body following the riots.
The bench questioned whether the NMC had adequately examined the Supreme Court's guidelines before initiating the action.
The petitions, filed through advocate Ashwin Ingole, challenged the demolition action taken by the civic body in the aftermath of the disturbances.
During the hearing, the bench asked why the NMC had failed to obtain the apex court's order from its official website or seek legal advice before proceeding with the demolitions.
"If NMC does not have faith in newspaper reports about bulldozer action, could it not have taken legal guidance from its lawyers? The relevant apex court order is available on its website. Could it not have downloaded and examined it?" the court orally observed.
The observations came after the NMC and its officials stated in earlier affidavits that they had come to know of the Supreme Court's judgment on bulldozer actions through media reports but were unaware of the detailed directions contained in the order.
Separate affidavits had been filed by the then NMC Commissioner and three other officials.
The court had earlier granted the officials an opportunity to explain their stated lack of knowledge of the apex court's directions.
On Monday, the bench sought to know the basis of that explanation and asked whether NMC officials had made any effort to access the Supreme Court order from its official website.
It also questioned whether the civic body's legal department had advised officials about the directions issued by the apex court.
The bench has now granted the NMC another opportunity to clarify its stand and directed the civic body to file a fresh affidavit within two weeks explaining its position.
The matter will be taken up for further hearing after the affidavit is submitted.
UNI PK SS
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