Nagpur: Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Monday orally questioned Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s claim that its officials were unaware of detailed directions issued by the Supreme Court on demolition and ‘bulldozer’ action, asking why the civic body did not simply obtain the order from the apex court’s website or seek legal advice.“If NMC does not have faith in newspaper reports about bulldozer action, could it not have taken legal guidance from its lawyers? The relevant apex court order is available on its website. Could it not have downloaded and examined it?” the court asked.A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas was hearing two petitions (Nos. 1601 & 1600/2025) filed by Aurangzeb’s Tomb Riots case prime accused Fahim Khan’s 69-year-old mother, Mehrunissa Shamim Khan, and 96-year-old Abdul Hafiz, whose property was partially demolished as his relative was made an accused in the Mahal riots. The pleas filed through counsel Ashwin Ingole challenged action taken by NMC following violence in central Nagpur in March 2025.The court’s questions came after NMC and its officials maintained in earlier affidavits that they had learnt about the top court’s judgment concerning bulldozer action through media reports but were not aware of the detailed directions contained in the order.The then NMC commissioner and three other officials had filed separate affidavits in the proceedings. The court had earlier given officials an opportunity to explain their stated lack of knowledge of Supreme Court’s directions.During Monday’s hearing, the bench questioned basis of that explanation. The court asked whether NMC officials had made any attempt to access SC order from its official website and whether the civic body’s legal machinery had advised them about the directions issued by the apex court.The court has now given the civic body another opportunity to respond. NMC has been directed to file a fresh affidavit within two weeks explaining its position. The matter will be taken up for further hearing after the fresh response is filed.
