Mumbai: The Bombay High Court sharply rebuked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies on Friday for its failure to address the persistent problem of potholes on city roads, suggesting that they should be prepared to compensate victims of accidents and fatalities caused by the hazardous conditions.

A bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sandesh Patil criticised the authorities while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) hearing regarding the perilous state of city and MMR’s road infrastructure.

The expressed concern, stating, “Roads that once lasted for decades are now developing craters after just one rainfall.” The bench emphasised that the authorities must be ready to offer compensation for both injuries and fatalities resulting from potholes, and raised serious questions about the number of lives lost and injuries sustained due to the neglect of road maintenance. The judges also hinted at the possibility of holding the BMC and other authorities accountable for such tragedies by making them liable for compensation.

Advocate Ruju Thakker, who initially filed a contempt petition against authorities for non-compliance with a 2018 High Court order on potholes, informed the court that five people had died due to potholes—one each in Mumbai and Thane, and three in Bhiwandi.

In response, the the bench remarked, “When someone in the family dies, the entire family’s livelihood is affected. The breadwinner is lost due to sheer negligence. The BMC must be prepared to pay compensation for such losses,” the bench warned.

Senior advocate Jamshed Mistry, appointed as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the case, pointed out the absence of a public liability insurance system in India, which is commonly found in other countries to cover accidents caused by public infrastructure.

“In other countries, there is a system of public liability insurance to cover such incidents, but in India, this is lacking. Why should citizens bear the brunt of such neglect (by authorities)?” Mistry said.

The court further instructed the BMC’s chief engineer and a senior officer from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to appear before it next week with detailed reports on the number of deaths and injuries caused by potholes.

“The issue of granting compensation for these pothole-related fatalities will be considered during the next hearing,” the HC said.

It added: “Learned counsel appearing for the respective respondents to also take instructions, as to whether the (civic) corporations are willing to assume responsibility for the medical expenditure of the persons injured on account of potholes within their respective jurisdiction, as the corporations appear to have breached several orders passed by this court from time to time.”

In October 2024, the HC had revived a 2018 PIL concerning pothole repairs across Mumbai and its metropolitan region, after disposing of Thakker’s contempt plea. The court had previously ordered the civic authorities to address potholes and establish a uniform mechanism for addressing public grievances related to road maintenance.

Mumbai: The special TADA court, conducting the trial against the third set of accused allegedly involved in 1993 blast case, has refused to discard, the confession statements of the accused, who were prosecuted in the first set of trial.

The prosecution had recorded confession statement of around 34 accused, which turned out to be crucial evidence to prove conspiracy charges, in the first phase of trial. Based on the confession statements which were corroborated with other evidence, the special court had in 2007, convicted around 100 accused.

The accused, who were subsequently arrested, which included gangster Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, had also questioned use of these confession statement as evidence in the trial against them. The court then had discarded their objection. Hence, the accused now have raised the issue before the Supreme Court in their appeals against conviction.

Pending, the issue, the accused, who are now before the court in the third set of right, have also raised the same issue. The defence has claimed that the statements cannot be used against them as the accused whose statements are sought to be used, are not being prosecuted with them.

It has been condended that confession statements of the accused can only be used of if those accused are also prosecuted along with the other accused against whom the statements are used. Since, the accused were prosecuted in previous trial, and are not jointly tried with the present set of the accused, it cannot be used now.

The Special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, (TADA) judge V D Kedar, decided to reject the objection observing that that the previous judge in second phase of the trial has already dealt with the same issues and “ruled that confessions of co-accused recorded in first part of the trial would be used against co-accused in subsequent part of the trial”.

The court also noted that the same issue is now raised by the second set of the accused, in the appeal filed before the Supreme court and it is still pending.

Those facing trial now are Farooq Mansoori-alias Farooq Takla, Ahmed Lambu, Munaf Halari, Abu Bakar, Sohaib Qureshi, Sayeed Qureshi and Yusuf Batka.

As per the prosecution Mansoori had allegedly facilitated the lodging and transport of four foot soldiers, who were recruited for the blasts before being sent to Pakistan for training. While, Lambu, Bakar, Qureshi, Batka had attended training for bomb making and also use of weapons. Meanwhile, Halari allegedly purchased the scooter allegedly used in the blasts.

New Delhi, Sep 13: In a significant development, Adani Power Ltd (APL) has signed a 25-year power supply agreement with Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd (BSPGCL) to supply 2,400 megawatt (MW) of power to the state, the Adani Group’s firm said on Saturday.

Under the agreement, the India’s largest private sector thermal power generator would supply the proposed power from a greenfield ultra super critical plant to be set up at Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district of Bihar.

The development came after a Letter of Award (LoA) by BSPGCL to APL, on behalf of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) in August.

Adani Power won the project by offering the lowest supply rate at Rs 6.075 per kWh.

“The company is planning to invest approximately $3 billion to build the new plant (800 MW X 3) and its supporting infrastructure under the Design, Build, Finance, Own, and Operate (DBFOO) model,” the APL informed.

The coal linkage for the power plant has been allocated under the SHAKTI Policy of the government of India.

During the construction phase, the project will generate around 10,000 to 12,000 direct and indirect employment. Once it becomes operational, it will employ 3,000 people.

APL aims to commission the plant in 60 months.

Earlier, in a first-of-its-kind adoption of the greenshoe option in a thermal power tender in India, APL was awarded a total of 1,600 MW capacity by MP Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL).

The company received a LoA from MPPMCL, awarding 800 MW additional capacity under the ‘Greenshoe Option’.

Both units (800MW x 2) in Anuppur district, Madhya Pradesh, will be commissioned within 60 months of the appointed date.

APL said that it will invest around Rs 21,000 crore towards setting up the plant and related infrastructure.

The project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment of 9,000-10,000 during the construction phase, and 2,000 once in operation.