In a scathing rebuke of administrative inefficiency, the Bombay High Court has come down heavily on the Law Department of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), expressing shock over its inability to provide case papers to its own legal counsel for over two months.
A Division Bench comprising Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe was “quite disturbed” to learn that although the petition by Kumar Agro Products Pvt. Ltd. was served on MHADA in December 2025, the authority’s Law Officer had yet to hand over the brief to their panel advocate.
“Endless Adjournments Cannot Be the Mantra”
The Court noted that MHADA maintains a panel of 23 advocates, yet the Law Department failed to brief any of them, leading to repeated requests for adjournments. The judges highlighted that such delays are not merely procedural—they carry a heavy cost for the public and the petitioners.
“The public exchequer cannot be put to such unwarranted expenditure,” the Bench observed, pointing out that taxpayers ultimately fund the fees for lawyers who are forced to ask for time simply because the department is disorganized.
High Court Mandates Reform
To ensure this “mantra” of delays ends, the Court issued the following directives:
- CEO Action: MHADA’s Chief Executive Officer (Sanjeev Jaiswal, IAS) is ordered to hold a mandatory meeting with all Law Officers and panel counsel to address the “routine” delays.
- Universal Warning: The Court directed that this order be circulated not just within MHADA, but also to the Municipal Commissioners and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to ensure similar mechanisms are fixed across all public bodies.
- Last Chance: While the Court reluctantly granted MHADA a final extension to file its reply by February 7, 2026, it warned that professional conduct is non-negotiable moving forward.
The matter is now scheduled for February 10, 2026, where it will be heard as a priority “High on board” case.
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