The Bombay High Court has drawn a hard line against Maharashtra’s never-ending pothole menace, ordering civic and state authorities to pay ₹6 lakh to families of those who die in pothole or open manhole accidents — and between ₹50,000 to ₹2.5 lakh to those injured.
The message was sharp and unambiguous: unless the people responsible for these deaths are made to pay — literally — the tragedy will keep repeating every monsoon.
Hearing a decade-old suo motu case sparked by a letter from former Justice GS Patel, a Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh D Patil delivered a sweeping order meant to make the system feel the sting of negligence.
“There can be no justification for bad and unsafe roads,” the Court said, reminding authorities that Mumbai — one of Asia’s wealthiest civic territories — cannot hide behind excuses. “Bad roads not only endanger lives but also drag down the economy itself.”
The judges underscored that good roads are not a privilege but part of the citizen’s right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. “It is the duty of civic bodies and state agencies to provide safe roads to the taxpaying public,” they emphasized.
Calling out the pattern of seasonal apathy, the Court noted that deaths and serious injuries from potholes and open manholes have become an “annual ritual” in Maharashtra. “Accountability must not stop with the contractors — the civic authorities themselves must answer,” the order warned.
The ruling sets a strict timeline: compensation must be paid within six to eight weeks of a claim, or the delay will cost senior officials — from municipal commissioners to district collectors — personally. Once paid, the government can recover the amount from those directly responsible, whether engineers, officers, or contractors.
To ensure no file gathers dust, the Court ordered the creation of local committees to investigate every accident, determine compensation, and track compliance. These committees must convene within seven days of any reported incident, and thereafter meet at least every 15 days — or sooner if necessary — especially during monsoon months.
Even a single complaint or news report can trigger their intervention. Police officers must alert the committees within 48 hours of any pothole or manhole accident.
The High Court’s warning was unmistakable: any failure to repair a reported pothole within 48 hours will count as gross negligence, inviting disciplinary action. “Only when accountability has a price tag,” the judges noted, “will the concerned authorities finally wake up.”
