After fighting a decade-long legal battle, the families of eight youngsters who lost their lives in a fire at Hotel City Kinara in Kurla, finally got justice as the Bombay High Court has directed the BMC to pay Rs 50 lakh to each victim’s family as compensation within 12 weeks, failing which, nine per cent annual interest will be applied.
A gutted Kurla’s Hotel City Kinara on October 17, 2015, a day after the blaze broke out in the eatery. File pic
Quashing and setting aside an order given by the Lokayukta, the Bombay High Court mentioned that the BMC can recover the compensation amount from those who will be eventually held responsible for the accident.
Civic body’s culpability
Despite several complaints being made regarding the improper storage of the gas cylinders and other matters, residents had claimed that no action was taken. One Martin Mathews had filed a complaint on September 4, 2012. Acting on it, a routine inspection was conducted on September 13, 2012, by the medical officer of health, and it was found that the eatery, located opposite Kohinoor Mall, was flouting various norms.
(From left) Sharjeel Shaikh, Bryan Fernando, Sajid Chowdhari and Akash Thapar died, as did Taha Shaikh and Arvind Kanojia (not in pic)
No letter from the chief fire officer granting permission to run the restaurant was produced at the time of the inspection. It was also found that the restaurant was using extra space outside the licensed premises for the preparation of food. However, despite this, the owner of the eatery, Sudesha Mahabal Hegade, and ‘conductor’ Sharad Ramapati Tripathi were directed to rectify the infringements and were cautioned that failing this, the BMC would take action under Section 394 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888. However, after this, even when residents repeatedly informed the authorities that no rectifications had been made, their applications fell on deaf ears.
The case
After the incident occurred on October 16, 2015, the Lokayukta, on August 20, 2016, dismissed the case, stating that a minimal compensation of R1 lakh be given to each family by the Kurla tehsildar’s office and ordered that a thorough investigation be conducted.
BMM students Bernadette and Irwin D’Souza, who lost their lives in the fire
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the parents of the deceased filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court on January 12, 2018, seeking justice and accountability from the corporation. “After 18 months, the matter was taken up by the court on August 20, 2019, and it was decided that it would be heard directly at the admission stage. However, the matter was again postponed several times during the pandemic due to various reasons. Finally, it was again taken up by the court on February 27, 2025, and on March 6 this year, the actual hearing began, with the final verdict pronounced on June 10,” said Jayesh Mestry, who represents the families of the deceased.
Mestry stated that the criminal case against the restaurant’s owner and conductor is still being heard by the sessions court. “The owner has filed a discharge application, which is still pending with the court. Thus, though a charge sheet has been filed by the police, charges haven’t been applied yet,” he added.
Families react
Bereaved relatives of the deceased have hailed the high court’s verdict, saying, though delayed, justice has been served. Rekha Thapar, mother of Akash Thapar, one of the victims, said, “We have cried every day since the incident, and not a single day has passed without the mention of my son. He was my only son, and he lost his life for no fault of his own. Today, he would have been working in a big firm and establishing himself. Nevertheless, now we are hopeful that the judicial system will ensure that the culprits are soon brought to justice, and we are waiting to see them behind bars. That is the day when we will consider that justice has finally been served.”
Jacinta D’Souza, mother of BMM student Bernadette D’Souza, opening up about her ordeal, said, “In 2013, I lost my husband, and I hadn’t even come out of that trauma completely when this tragedy happened. Though the owner of the eatery must be punished for playing with the lives of so many, the BMC must be held equally responsible for not taking stringent action against the owner and allowing him to continue functioning despite several complaints being made. Though very late, we have gotten justice, but the blame game being played by those responsible must stop, and the culprit must be punished at the earliest.”
Norms flouted by Kurla eatery
>> No licence had been granted to Kinara in respect of its veranda
>> Copies of the police and the chief fire officer’s NOC were not available
>> No information was available regarding where and how many gas cylinders were stored
>> No information was available regarding the water tanks
>> No licence had been granted in respect of a bathroom
