Bombay HC withdraws notice against civic chief

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has withdrawn the show cause notice against BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta who had not followed the high court order. Two years back, the high court directed the BMC administration to accommodate 25 junior engineers in the service.

During the hearing, a division bench of Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice N.J. Jamadar expressed displeasure saying that in various petitions pertaining to the BMC, several orders had been issued but it seemed that the orders did not reach the commissioner. The judges said that they did not like to call such a higher officer to the court but were helpless.

Mr Mehta was called by the court in a petition filed by 25 clerks, alleging that despite giving assurance before the co-urt to elevate them from clerks to junior level engineers, the BMC had done nothing till date.

According to the petitioners, they had been working as clerks in the BMC but later, they had taken civil engineering degrees and applied for the post of junior level engineers in the BMC when the recruitment process was initiated.

However, the BMC had refused to elevate them saying that all of them had not taken education from recognised universities. All applicants then moved the HC but in 2016, the BMC gave an assurance before the court that the corporation was ready to elevate them to the post they sought. After the assurance, the petitioner withdrew the petition but till December 2018, the BMC did not keep its promise which is why the court issued show cause notice to Mehta.