Supreme Court halts Mumbai Municipal Commissioner's salary

The Supreme Court of India has withheld the salary of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ashwini Satish Bhide and her staff. The decision follows a finding that the Commissioner committed contempt of court by failing to comply with two previous orders to remove encroachments from land designated for a BEST bus stand in Borivali, Mumbai.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana dismissed an application from the civic body seeking more time to execute the eviction orders. The court imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the BMC and issued a show cause notice to the Commissioner to explain why formal contempt action should not be taken against her.

The court expressed dissatisfaction with the BMC's explanation for the delay, which included claims that municipal officers required documents to be translated from Marathi to English before acting.