In a scathing judgment, the Bombay High Court has come down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for an “inexplicable and unjustifiable” delay of 1,526 days (over four years) in filing an appeal in a property assessment tax matter. Justice Jitendra Jain, while dismissing the civic body’s plea for condonation of delay, warned that such administrative inefficiency could result in serious revenue loss to the city and set a dangerous precedent.
The Case: BMC Challenged Reduction of Rateable Value
The matter stems from a dispute over the rateable value of a property belonging to Ashirwad Shelters Pvt. Ltd.
- Originally, BMC assessed the rateable value at ₹1.42 crore.
- After the respondent’s challenge, BMC itself reduced it to around ₹30 lakh.
- The Small Causes Court, in May 2016, further restored the rateable value to ₹7,40,530.
Instead of filing an appeal within the statutory period of 30 days under Section 218D of the MMC Act, the BMC approached the High Court in October 2020, leading to a massive delay of over four years.
Court Criticises BMC’s “Glacial Speed” and Excuses
Justice Jain rejected each explanation offered by the Corporation, calling them repetitive, vague, and unacceptable.
— Appeal Committee met after limitation expired
The Court pointed out that the first Appeal Committee meeting happened months after the 30-day limit was over.
The Committee met four times over a year to decide a simple property tax appeal.
The judge remarked:
“In revenue matters, decisions must be taken at lightning speed, not at the speed at which bureaucracy moves files.”
— Unexplained delays between departments
Even after the Committee finally approved the appeal in June 2017:
- The decision was communicated to the legal department only in November 2018 (a delay of 17 months).
- The appeal was filed two years later, in October 2020.
The Court said it “failed to understand” why each stage consumed years.
— Pandemic excuse rejected outright
The Court noted that limitation had expired in 2016, long before COVID-19.
“The pandemic cannot save an appeal already dead much before 2020.”
“World’s Richest Municipal Corporation Should Not Function This Way”
The judge delivered a strong message, calling out BMC’s repeated excuses such as staff shortage, workload, coordination issues, and lack of timely updates.
The Court observed that BMC—handling India’s financial capital and being among the world’s wealthiest civic bodies—must have adequate staff, robust systems, and legal preparedness, especially in revenue matters involving taxpayers’ money.
“Ultimately it is the taxpayers’ money at stake… The Corporation should equip itself with adequate manpower so that its legitimate revenue is not lost due to delay.”
He further urged top officers to intervene and overhaul internal processes so that such lapses do not recur.
Appeal and Stay Application Dismissed
Relying on the Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Shivamma (Dead) by LRs vs. Karnataka Housing Board (2025), the Court held that the BMC had not shown “sufficient cause” to condone the delay.
As a result:
- The condonation application was dismissed,
- The First Appeal was automatically dismissed,
- The stay application also stood disposed of.
The BMC will now lose the ability to recover higher property tax for the disputed period.
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