Nagpur Municipal Commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari has issued an unconditional apology to the Bombay High Court for the demolition of homes belonging to two persons accused in the March 17 Nagpur violence.
In an affidavit submitted to the High Court’s Nagpur bench, Chaudhari stated that civic officials were unaware of the Supreme Court’s guidelines requiring due process before demolishing properties linked to criminal cases.
He further mentioned that the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) had not received any official circular from the Maharashtra government about the Supreme Court’s directive, which had asked all state chief secretaries and Union Territory administrators to inform local bodies and district officials about the required legal safeguards before carrying out demolitions.
Chaudhari clarified that no malafide intent was involved and that the demolitions were carried out under the statutory provisions of the Slum Act, 1971. He explained that the NMC’s town planning department and zonal officers were unaware of the court order due to the absence of official communication from the state, leading to the continuation of standard procedures.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Fahim Khan—one of the accused charged with sedition—whose house was razed hours before the HC passed a stay order on March 24. Demolition work at the residence of another accused, Yusuf Sheikh, was halted after the court intervened.
Acknowledging that some actions violated the apex court’s directions, the commissioner insisted this was due to ignorance rather than intentional defiance.
The High Court bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi has now given the Maharashtra government two weeks to respond.
