MUMBAI: Nearly a decade after a devastating fire at Hotel City Kinara in Kurla West claimed eight lives, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday held the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) accountable for gross negligence and ordered it to pay ₹50 lakh in compensation to each victim’s family.
The bench of Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla delivered a scathing verdict, stating that the BMC had failed in its statutory duties and its inaction directly contributed to the tragedy. “Kinara was granted an eating house license without securing a mandatory fire NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the fire brigade. This, in our view, represents one of the most egregious breaches not only by the restaurant owner but by BMC as well,” the court observed.
The fire broke out on October 16, 2015, around 1:20 p.m. in the mezzanine section of the restaurant. The victims included seven college students, aged between 18 and 20, from Don Bosco Institute of Technology, and a 32-year-old civil engineer.
The court was hearing a 2018 petition filed by the families of the deceased, challenging the Lokayukta’s 2017 decision to dismiss their plea for a formal investigation, citing that ₹1 lakh had already been disbursed as compensation. The High Court overturned that decision, asserting that the sum was merely ad-hoc and grossly insufficient.
In its ruling, the court emphasized that all victims had a promising future and “a full working life ahead of them.” The judges cited their education and employment status—many were engineering or media students, and one was a working professional—as evidence of their potential to earn well over their lifetimes. Accordingly, the court reasoned that ₹30 lakh would have been a fair base compensation, which, when adjusted for inflation and interest over the intervening years, amounts to ₹50 lakh in 2025.
The court heavily criticized BMC’s conduct before and after the incident. It noted that the civic body failed to act even after multiple inspections—conducted in September 2012, March 2013, and September 2015—flagged multiple violations, including:
- No fire safety clearance from the fire department
- Unauthorized use of mezzanine floor for dining instead of storage
- Cooking activities extending beyond the licensed premises
- Storage of illegal LPG cylinders
A complaint by one Martin Mathews to Vinoba Bhave police regarding the LPG storage was passed on to the BMC, but the assistant commissioner of the L ward allegedly did not act. Additionally, in response to an RTI filed by activist Nicholas Almeida, the fire department confirmed Kinara had no fire NOC. Advocate Godfrey Pimenta later learned the restaurant wasn’t even registered with HPCL’s Laxmi Gas Agency, further revealing how it operated outside legal bounds.
The court sided with the petitioners’ lawyers, senior advocate Naushad Engineer and advocate Jayesh Mistry, who argued that BMC owed the public a higher duty of care, especially regarding safety. The judges rejected BMC’s defense—represented by advocate Anil Sakhare—that there was no direct link between the civic body’s failures and the fatalities.
Criticizing the Lokayukta’s earlier dismissal of the complaint, the court remarked that it failed to consider the nature and inadequacy of the ₹1 lakh compensation. The judges concluded: “Had BMC promptly discharged its statutory duties—cancelled the restaurant’s license, confiscated illegal LPG cylinders, and restricted use of the mezzanine—the fire would not have occurred.”
The court ruled that BMC must pay each victim’s family ₹50 lakh within 12 weeks. If payment is delayed, the sum will accrue 9% annual interest until cleared.
