MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has put in place a clear and enforceable system for citizens to claim compensation for injuries and deaths caused by potholes, open manholes and poorly maintained roads.
The directions, issued in a detailed order passed on October 15 in a long-running suo-motu (on its own) public interest litigation, mark a major step towards accountability of civic authorities and contractors who build and maintain public roads across Maharashtra.
The court, which has been monitoring the issue since 2013, noted that despite repeated orders, potholes continue to cause deaths and serious injuries, especially to two-wheeler riders. Noting that this was a recurring issue every monsoon, a bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh D Patil said it was “a classic case of repeated administrative failure.” It added that the right to safe and motorable roads is a part of the fundamental right to life guaranteed by the Constitution.
To ensure that victims and families do not have to run from one government office to another, the court framed a step-by-step process through which compensation can be claimed, accountability can be fixed, and recovery can be made from negligent officials and contractors. Here’s how the process works.
Who can claim compensation?
Any person who suffers an injury because of a pothole, uneven road, or open manhole, and the family members of anyone who dies due to such an incident, are entitled to claim compensation. The high court has clarified that the responsibility lies with the public authority in charge of maintaining the road stretch, whether it is a municipal corporation, the Public Works Department (PWD), the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), or any other local or state agency.
What do you need to establish?
To make a successful claim, the person filing the complaint needs to show that the accident occurred because of poor maintenance of the road. This can be done by collecting and submitting the following documents, which help establish that the cause of injury or death was the condition of the road and not any other factor:
The date, time and location of the accident;
Photographs or videos of the pothole or open manhole;
Copies of hospital and medical records;
A police report, if available;
Any witness statements or vehicle repair bills.
Where and how to file the claim?
The complaint can be submitted to the municipal corporation or council of the area or to the district collector in rural areas. If the accident spot falls under the jurisdiction of the PWD, MSRDC, MMRDA, or the Mumbai Port Authority, the complaint can be sent directly to those bodies.
Under the court order, a copy of the complaint must also be sent to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), which acts as the nodal officer for such claims. The DLSA will follow up with the concerned authority and ensure that the case is placed before the Permanent Committee on Road Safety and Accountability in that district.
What happens after you file the claim?
Every district and major municipal area will have a permanent committee consisting of senior civic officials, engineers, representatives from the DLSA, and technical experts from IIT Bombay or the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
The committee will: 1. Verify the facts of the complaint; 2. Conduct an inspection if necessary; 3. Identify which authority or contractor was responsible for maintaining that road; and 4. Recommend the compensation amount to be paid to the victim or their family.
The process is designed to be administrative, not judicial, meaning victims don’t need to file a separate case or hire a lawyer to get compensation.
The court has also mandated police stations concerned to inform the local committee within 48 hours of any accident that appears to be caused by potholes or open manholes. This allows the compensation process to begin even if a citizen has not yet filed a formal claim.
How much compensation is to be paid?
The court has fixed standard amounts for immediate relief: ₹6 lakh in case of death; and between ₹50,000 and ₹2.5 lakh for injuries, depending on their severity. The concerned public authority must pay this compensation in eight weeks once the committee recommends it.
The high court has clarified that this compensation is in addition to other legal remedies, meaning that the victim or their family can still pursue civil damages or criminal prosecution against negligent officials if they wish.
Who ultimately bears responsibility?
The court has made it clear that the compensation initially comes from public funds, but the financial burden must ultimately fall on those responsible for the negligence. The committee will identify the engineers, contractors, or officers whose failure caused the incident, and the amount of compensation will then be recovered from them by either deducting it from contractors’ pending bills, withholding security deposits, or recovering it from the salaries of responsible officers.
Besides, those found guilty of gross negligence can also face departmental action, suspension, or blacklisting and, in serious cases, criminal prosecution. The court said that this dual system, compensation for victims and recovery from those at fault, is meant to ensure both justice and deterrence.
If the authority or committee fails to act within a reasonable time, citizens can approach the District Legal Services Authority again or write to the high court’s monitoring committee directly. The court has also kept open the option of filing a separate writ petition under Article 226 to enforce the right to compensation.
The order emphasises that such compensation cases will be reviewed annually by a state-level monitoring committee, which will include senior officials, technical experts, and representatives from the state legal services authority.
Alongside the compensation procedure, the court has directed the state and municipal corporations to establish a single-window complaint system where citizens can report potholes or damaged roads through toll-free numbers, websites, or mobile apps. These platforms must allow citizens to upload photographs and track repair progress. Civic bodies are required to give wide publicity to these systems and ensure a timely response.
Why did the court step in?
The order is part of a suo motu PIL that the Bombay High Court began in 2013 after justice GS Patel, then a judge of the court, wrote to the chief justice about the “pathetic condition” of Mumbai’s roads. Over the years, the case has seen numerous directions, reports, and affidavits from agencies like the BMC, PWD, MSRDC, and MMRDA. Yet, the court observed that every monsoon, citizens face the same problems, broken roads, accidents, and loss of life, without accountability.
By institutionalising compensation and recovery mechanisms, the court aims to make the system self-correcting: to ensure that those who build or supervise roads cannot walk away when lives are lost because of their negligence.
“The right to properly maintained roads is a fundamental right of citizens,” the court said. “When this right is violated, accountability must follow, not merely by words, but by action and compensation.”