Bombay HC orders BMC to pay Rs 50 lakh each to kin of 8 Kurla hotel fire victims, cites ‘gross negligence’

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to pay ₹50 lakh each to the families of eight individuals who died in a devastating fire at Hotel City Kinara in Kurla in October 2015.

The bench, comprising Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla, held the civic body directly responsible for failing to act on known safety violations, calling its conduct a “gross breach” of statutory duties.

Seven of the victims were young students aged between 18 and 20, while the eighth was a 31-year-old engineer from Virar. The fire broke out on October 16, 2015, when the hotel was operating without mandatory fire safety clearances.

Hotel ran illegally, BMC failed to act

The court noted that the hotel violated multiple licensing conditions—most critically, running a public service area on a mezzanine floor designated only for storage and lacking a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department. The victims were seated on this floor when the blaze erupted.

Despite multiple complaints and inspections, the BMC failed to shut down the establishment. The court said this inaction was directly linked to the loss of lives and amounted to a violation of the victims’ fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The civic body attempted to deflect blame onto the hotel owners, stating that internal disciplinary action had been taken against four officials. The court, however, rejected this argument and underscored that when public safety is involved, the authorities are held to a higher standard of accountability.

“Had BMC acted, the fire could have been averted”

“Had the BMC taken prompt action, the incident would not have occurred,” the court observed, ordering that the compensation be paid within 12 weeks. It described the civic body’s role in issuing a licence without fire safety approvals as one of the “most egregious” breaches in the case.

The judgment sends a strong message about institutional accountability in matters of public safety and reaffirms the judiciary’s stance on the State’s responsibility in preventing avoidable tragedies.

(With PTI inputs)