Bombay High Court Slams Bmc Open Manhole Death

Pulling up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation over inadequate measures related to potholes, and non-installation of protective grills on manholes leading to the death of a man, the Bombay High Court Monday questioned if the civic body did not value lives of the people.

The BMC told the HC that all manholes in Mumbai will have protective grills installed in a week’s time, as some of the grills were missing or stolen. Those without grills will be, in the meantime, barricaded to avoid any mishap, the civic body told the court.

The bench also slammed the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for its “insensitive approach” due to the non-disbursement of compensation as per a past HC order to the kin of a toddler who fell into a stormwater drain and died last year.

On June 29, a bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Kamal R Khata, while hearing a plea by lawyer Ruju Thakker raising concerns over the measures related to potholes and manholes, questioned the BMC as to how many years it would require to make all the roads in the city under its area completely motorable and without any potholes or open manholes.

Thakker also referred to the July 2 incident in Saki Naka where 55-year-old Aslam Isaq Shaikh died after falling into an open manhole on which civic workers were installing a protective grill and sought urgent redressal of the issue to ensure no further lives are lost due to the lack of protective measures. Thakker also stated that in the Andheri or Milan Subways, there were reported incidents of the same manholes being stolen multiple times.

On Monday, senior advocate Anil Sakhare for the BMC submitted that after the incident, Commissioner Ashwini Bhide initiated remedial measures and also suspended four officers, which will make a “lot of difference”.

The bench questioned how the incident took place despite earlier directions by the HC and remarked that “there was no value given to the lives of the people” and questioned the BMC as to whether it could claim that no such incident will happen in the future.

Sakhare claimed that a “very few number of uncovered manholes were left” and they will be fixed within 7-8 days and till then “open manholes will not be left unattended, they will be barricaded and an official will be at the spot to guide the citizens”.

The court was further informed that a committee appointed by the TMC had decided to pay Rs 75,000 as compensation to the kin of the deceased toddler who fell into a stormwater drain last year.

However, Thakker said it was insufficient as the HC in its October 2025 order had mandated at least Rs 6 lakh as compensation in case of death caused by potholes or open manholes, to be recovered from errant officers and/or contractors.

Thakker also said that the immediate compensation was decided by the panel for the kin of the 50-year-old woman who died after her two-wheeler hit a pothole in Thane.

The HC expressed displeasure over the TMC’s “insensitive approach” and posted the further hearing to July 14 seeking effective measures from the civic bodies.