The Bombay High Court held the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) responsible for the deaths of eight young individuals in a tragic fire that broke out at Hotel City Kinara in Mumbai's Kurla area in 2015.
The Court directed the civic body to pay ₹50 lakh as compensation to the families of each victim within 12 weeks.
A division bench of Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwala ruled that the BMC’s failure to act on known safety violations at the eatery amounted to gross negligence and a breach of its statutory duties.
The Court observed that this negligence had led to the violation of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution for the victims and their families.
"The loss of life has caused not just emotional trauma but also economic hardship to the petitioners, many of whom come from low- to middle-income backgrounds and have lost their sole breadwinners,” the Court said. It further added that if the amount is not paid within 12 weeks, it will carry an interest of 9% per annum until realization.
On October 16, 2015, eight people — Akash Thapar, Erwin D’Souza, Brian Fernando, Arvind Kanaujia, Sharjeel Shaikh, Taha Shaikh, Bernadette D’Souza, and Sajid Chaudhary — were killed in a fire while having lunch on the mezzanine floor of Hotel City Kinara. The floor was illegally constructed for dining purposes and housed gas cylinders, in violation of safety norms.
Seven of the deceased were students, and one was a married adult.
The Court highlighted that the BMC had inspected the premises multiple times before the incident and was fully aware of the ongoing violations. As early as September 13, 2012, the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) had found that Kinara was operating without fire safety clearance.
Another inspection on September 2, 2015—just over a month before the fire—revealed that the mezzanine floor was being used for serving customers and storing gas cylinders, despite being meant solely for storage.
The judges observed that despite having this knowledge, no meaningful action was taken. “This demonstrates a complete breakdown in enforcement and accountability,” the Court noted.
The bench underscored that in situations involving inherently hazardous activities, public authorities are expected to exercise the highest degree of care.
It stated, “The BMC granted an eating house license without ensuring that a Fire NOC had been obtained—an egregious breach of statutory duty.”
The Court concluded that BMC's inaction amounted to gross negligence and led to the deaths of the petitioners’ family members.
Petitioners: Sr. Adv. Naushad Engineer, Hasmit Trivedi, Mehek Shah, Jayesh Mestry
State: Govt. Pleader Purnima Kantharia, Addl. Govt. Pleader Abhay Patki
BMC: Sr. Adv. Anil Sakhare, Yashodeep Deshmukh, Jyoti Mhatre, Anuja Tirmali, Komal Punjabi
HPCL: Advocates SR Page, Eesha Jaifalkar, Archana Joglekar
Adani Electricity: Advocates Vighnesh Kamat, Satish Kamat
Case Title: Rekha P. Thapar v. State of Maharashtra
Writ Petition No.: 659 of 2018
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