Bombay High Court Pulls Up Mumbai Police For “Lethargic And Lackadaisical" Probe In Allegations Of Illegal Bungalows In City's Madh-Island Region

The Bombay High Court last week pulled up the Mumbai Police for its 'lethargic and lackadaisical' approach in dealing with a First Information Report (FIR) related to the alleged forging of documents and also maps to construct illegal bungalows at the city's plush Madh-Island area in western suburbs.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan noted that the FIR with regards to the alleged forging of 884 maps for constructing illegal bungalows, was lodged way back in December 2021 with the Kherwadi Police Station in Bandra, yet the police has recorded statements of only 24 witnesses. The bench further noted that in the last one month, more 64 persons have come forward to become witnesses yet the police has not recorded any of their's statements.

The bench highlighted the fact that the complainant has a legitimate expectation that once an FIR is registered, the same will be taken to its logical end, expeditiously.

"This legitimate expectation cannot be ignored. In this case, we find that there is lethargy on the part of the Officers in taking the investigation in the said logical end. If there is delay in investigating the case, the complainant will loose faith in the system, which cannot be permitted. It is the responsibility of the police to file appropriate report expeditiously, once the FIR is lodged," the judges said in the October 17 order.

Even in the present case, it was open for the police to file a charge-sheet and continue to investigate under Section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which has not been done, the judges said. The bench, therefore, ordered the Additional Commissioner of Police (Western Region) to personally look into the case and spell out the steps, the police proposes to take in this matter.

The petitioner has alleged that 884 maps have been forged and construction of houses/bungalows have been shown as having been constructed prior to 1964, the bench noted.

"It is a serious matter and requires to be investigated thoroughly and the Police need to go into the root of the matter. Instead, we find that the Police have been lackadaisical and have hardly done any investigation, for the reasons best known to them," the judges opined.

The bench further noted that the complainant petitioner had given his 'statement' to the Goregaon Police Station alleging that the majority maps relating to construction at Madh-Island have been manipulated to get exemption under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and to show that the structures are prior to 1964. He alleged that even after his statement or complaint, the Goregaon Police did nothing in this regard.

The order further disclosed that zonal Assistant Police Commissioner (AC) who was present in the court, informed the judges that the papers related to the allegations have been forwarded to the Controller of Slums (Bombay Slum Development Court) to scrutinise the documents qua the allegations.

"Considering the gravity and seriousness of the case in hand and the conduct of the officers, which we have seen after perusing the papers, we deem it appropriate to direct the Addl. C.P, Western Region, to remain present in Court on Wednesday (October 23)," the judges said while adjourning the matter.

Appearance:

Advocates Abhinandan Vagyani and Sumit Ashok Shinde appeared for the Petitioners.

Additional Public Prosecutor Kranti Hiwrale represented the State.

Case Title: Vaibhav Mohan Thakur vs State of Maharashtra (Writ Petition (Stamp) No: 13552 of 2024)

Click Here To Read/Download The Order