Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday delivered a sharp reprimand to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), questioning how India’s wealthiest civic body could allow a crucial revenue appeal to be delayed by more than 1,500 days. The court stated that a corporation managing Mumbai’s massive financial ecosystem must take decisions “at lightning speed”, not at the sluggish pace of bureaucratic file movement.
Justice Jitendra Jain made these remarks while dismissing a delayed appeal filed by the BMC in a dispute over the rateable value of a property owned by Ashirwad Shelters Pvt Ltd. The property’s valuation directly determines the tax owed to the civic body, making it a significant revenue issue.
The Small Causes Court had, in May 2016, restored the rateable value of the property to ₹7.40 lakh, overturning the BMC’s earlier assessment of ₹1.42 crore, which was later revised to approximately ₹30 lakh. Under Section 218D of the MMC Act, the BMC was required to challenge this ruling within 30 days. However, the municipal Appeal Committee convened only after the deadline had passed, holding meetings in August and December 2016, April 2017, and finally in June 2017—long after the statutory window had closed.
Justice Jain questioned how a statutory deadline of 30 days could be ignored so casually, noting that “revenue matters must be handled swiftly.” The court further criticised the corporation for an additional 17-month delay in communicating the committee’s decision to the legal department, and for finally filing the appeal only in October 2020.
The BMC attempted to justify the delay by citing staff shortages, excessive workload, internal coordination problems and later, Covid-19 disruptions. The court rejected these explanations as baseless, pointing out that the limitation period had lapsed years before the pandemic. Calling the reasons “mere excuses”, the judge stressed that a civic body with such vast administrative responsibility must ensure adequate staffing and strong internal systems to protect Mumbai’s revenue.
