HC refuses to monitor EOW probe into 2015 BMC de-silting scam

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to monitor the probe being conducted by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police into the 2015 de-silting scam, in which several civic officials and contractors have been named as accused.

A bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre noted that the EOW had already filed chargesheets against a majority of the accused persons in the case and therefore, there was no need for the court to monitor the probe.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Vivekanand Gupta, seeking that the court monitors the EOW probe into the de-silting scam.

The plea highlighted the irregularities committed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the construction of roads and de-silting of drains between 2013 and 2016.

In June 2015, the city had witnessed massive flooding and waterlogging after heavy showers, despite the BMC's claims of having completed the de-silting and road repair work before the rains.

At the time, the BMC too had conducted an internal probe.

BMC counsel Anil Sakhre told the bench on Wednesday that the corporation had taken action against several of its engineers found complicit in the scam and that it had also blacklisted the contractors concerned.

Appearing for the Maharashtra government, Jayesh Yagnik told the court that two FIRs were registered in the matter and chargesheets were filed in both the cases against most of the accused persons.

He said the EOW was going to "file chargesheets against the remaining six accused in the first FIR and three accused in the second FIR soon".

"The chargesheets have been filed to let the law take its course. We cannot monitor everything," the bench said.

It, however, accepted the state's request for an additional three weeks to enable the EOW to file the chargesheets against the remaining accused.