In a move aimed at ending jurisdictional blame games that have repeatedly delayed relief to victims of potholes, the Bombay High Court (HC) has warned that any municipal corporations or authorities disputing who controls a road where a pothole or open manhole has caused death or injury will be ordered to pay compensation equally.
A division bench of justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Sandesh Patil says it would not permit civic agencies to create 'no-man’s zones' of responsibility. “What else can be done? A person cannot be asked to go from one committee to another. This is not the object of the committee. It cannot be a no-man’s zone,” the Court was quoted as saying while hearing compliance with its 13 October 2025 order mandating immediate compensation to victims.
Under the October order which followed years of litigation over Maharashtra’s deteriorating road conditions, municipal corporations and state authorities must pay ₹6 lakh to families of people who die due to potholes or open manholes. Injured victims must be compensated between ₹50,000 and ₹2.5 lakh, depending on the severity of injuries. These payouts are to be determined by special committees comprising the municipal commissioner or chief officer and the secretary of the district legal services authority.
On Monday, the bench examined compliance affidavits filed by various corporations, including the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), confirming the formation of these committees.
The BMC told the Court that it had constituted two committees—one each for Mumbai city and suburbs—and claimed no complaints of pothole-related deaths or injuries had been received so far.
Amicus curiae advocate Jamshed Mistry challenged this assertion, calling it 'impossible to accept', with the judges agreeing that the committees must first be allowed to function properly.
The Court also reminded agencies that it is aware of at least two recent deaths under the Thane Municipal Corporation and one under the BMC, all of which occurred while the matter was being heard. These cases, it says, must be taken up at the committees’ next meeting.
Appearing for the BMC, senior advocate Anil Sakhare argued that people often do not know which roads fall under which authority, and the corporation cannot be held liable for roads belonging to others. The bench responded sharply: “The next time you all keep fighting over jurisdiction, we will direct 50:50 payment.”
The latest directive builds directly on the strongly worded October 2025 judgement where the bench declared that civic bodies and the state are not only obligated but duty-bound to ensure safe and motorable roads. The HC had then criticised years of municipal apathy, failure to repair potholes within mandated timelines and the heavy toll of preventable deaths.
In that ruling, the Court stated there can be 'no justification for bad roads' in Mumbai and ordered that compensation be drawn from fines recovered from errant contractors. In the absence of such funds, civic bodies, district collectors, the public works department (PWD), Bombay Port Trust (BPT), MMRDA, MSRDC or National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) must pay up, with the amount later recovered from officers, engineers or contractors found negligent.
The October order also mandated that all potholes must be repaired within 48 hours, failing which gross negligence will be recorded and disciplinary action initiated. The Court noted that despite repeated directives since 2015, thousands of potholes continue to be reported each year, with citizens facing injuries, loss of livelihood and, in many cases, death.
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Moneylife report from October highlighted how the Court had criticised the BMC for missing its 30 April 2025 deadline to concretise all city roads and cited five deaths in two months—three in Bhiwandi, one in Kalyan and one in Powai—as examples of ongoing civic failure. During that hearing, the judges also described some broken stretches not as potholes but 'craters', questioning whether officials were 'blindfolded'.
The HC has made it clear that accountability will now be personal. Compensation must be paid within six to eight weeks and, if delayed, top officials—including municipal commissioners and principal secretaries—will bear personal liability, with 9% annual interest accruing until settlement.
By signalling that bickering authorities will be forced into equal-liability compensation, Monday’s hearing marks the Court’s latest attempt to break bureaucratic inertia in Maharashtra’s long-running battle with bad roads. The matter will be heard again after the newly-formed committees begin processing claims from victims of pothole-related deaths and injuries.
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