"We cannot stall public work": Bombay High Court on PIL seeking removal of non-IAS Municipal Commissioner

The Bombay High Court Thursday refused to stay the tenders being passed by the acting commissioner of Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) whose appointment has been challenged before the High Court by way of a public interest litigation (PIL). .A bench of acting Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice SG Chapalgaonkar reasoned that it cannot stall the work being undertaken for public benefit. “We cannot stall the public works”, the acting Chief Justice remarked.The PIL filed by Selvaraj Shanmugam, a public activist, stated that current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who was the Minister of Urban Development Department in 2021, had made Dilip Dhole the Commissioner of MBMC after dislodging the then Commissioner who belonged to IAS cadre.The grievance was that the present commissioner did not belong to IAS cadre officer..The bench expressed doubts about whether the reliefs in the plea, which were more the nature of a service matter, can be sought by way of a PIL.The bench said that a writ may be maintainable if what was sought was an order of quo warranto (to decide whether a person has the right to hold a public office or not). The bench sought to know the urgency in the matter.Shanmugam’s counsel replied that MBMC had been dissolved and the present Commissioner was passing all kinds of tenders and issuing work orders when he had no powers to do the same. The Court however quipped that it was not willing to pass any order that will stall public work. .The matter was then posted for hearing in the second week of January next year and respondents were permitted to file replies. .The plea made the following claims:That Dhole is not from IAS cadre;The post was occupied by an officer from the IAS cadre, and his term had not yet expired when he was removed.The present commissioner, who was working as a Deputy Commissioner in the Goods and Service Tax Department, was sent to the State Ministry of Urban Development Department and, thereafter, transferred to MBMC as as Additional Municipal Commissioner on August 2020.In March 2021, he was appointed as Municipal Commissioner.The petitioner claimed that letters were addressed to Shinde as Cabinet Minister and the appointment of Dhole was a political gimmick to suit the requirement of the ruling dispensation.The petitioner claimed that documents obtained through Right to Information Act (RTI Act) and newspapers also showed that Shinde had directed the appointment of Dhole as Commissioner even though the said post was not vacant.