Recently, the Bombay High Court strongly criticised the Mumbai Police over the alleged failure to prevent the midnight demolition of the historic Buddha Bhushan Printing Press linked to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The Court expressed serious concern over the manner in which the police allegedly responded to complaints despite claims that hundreds of persons equipped with bulldozers and machinery had gathered at the site during the night.
The Division Bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata was hearing petitions arising out of the 2016 demolition of the press situated at Dadar, Mumbai. According to the petitions, the structure established by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was allegedly razed overnight by accused persons accompanied by nearly 400-500 individuals using bulldozers and heavy machinery. It was further alleged that valuable manuscripts, documents in Dr. Ambedkar’s handwriting, and machines purchased by him were damaged or stolen during the incident.
While examining the affidavit filed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, the Court remarked that, “A perusal of Affidavit of Assistant Commissioner of Police is, to say the least, shocking.” The Bench further criticised the stand taken by the police, observing that, “Rather than acknowledging this lapse, an attempt has been made to justify such inaction by adopting a stance that runs contrary to the basic principles of law.”
The Court also observed, “It is rare, if not unprecedented, for the BMC or any Authority to carry out a demolition between 12.00 am. and 7 am.” and noted that “there was evident inaction on the part of the police.”
Expressing dissatisfaction over the omissions in the affidavit, the High Court directed the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to personally file a detailed affidavit after examining the entire material collected during the investigation and explain whether intelligence inputs regarding the gathering of such a large crowd had been received in advance. The Court also directed the BMC Commissioner to clarify whether any permission for demolition had been granted and whether demolitions in Mumbai are ordinarily permitted during midnight hours. The matter has been listed for further hearing in June, 2026.
Case Title: Prakash Y. Ambedkar v. Vijay Balkrishna Ranpise & Ors.
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 1782 of 2017 along with Writ Petition No. 705 of 2020
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice A.S. Gadkari and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kamal Khata
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Prakash Y. Ambedkar, Ms. Madhavi Ayyappan, Mr. Satish Maneshinde, Senior Advocate with Mr. Samay Pawar
Advocate for the Respondents: Smt. Smita Tondwalkar, Smt. P.P. Shinde, APP
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