On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court came down heavily on the BMC for its inaction over the issue of illegal hoardings and banners. The court observed that these hoardings and banners are now being put up even outside the court building in Fort.
While hearing a PIL filed against illegal hoardings, a division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar perused the photographs produced by advocate Manoj Shirsat (who was representing intervener activist Zoru Bhathena). These photographs showed a hoarding outside the court, which was put up after the election results.
The court expressed displeasure over the inaction of the municipal officials and said that repeated directions have had no effect. The court remarked, “You allowed the hoarding to be put up right in front of the High Court? Who is this officer? You people have started taking the court lightly. Why was this not reported to the commissioner by the ward officer?”
Last month, the division bench had cautioned the political parties and reminded them of their commitment to abide by the court’s orders. However, on Wednesday, the court said, “It appears that political parties and other organizations do not respect the court’s orders.”
The court has fixed the next hearing of the case on December 19 and has appealed to the Advocate General for cooperation during this period.
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