The Bombay High Court recently advised a group of senior citizens who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against illegal parking near Vikhroli Railway Station to take proactive steps and create awareness among the public.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice MS Karnik suggested that the petitioners should visit the location between 10 am and 5 pm to raise awareness. The Court remarked that instead of only pointing fingers at the authorities, public-spirited individuals should work towards solving the issue.
"Why don't you initiate creating public awareness that it is illegal...petitioner, except for filing PIL..what you do is undertake a campaign and create awareness among people that parking here is illegal and it causes inconvenience to public in general. Initiate a campaign and give us a report on next date...how many people you could convince to not park," said Chief Justice Aradhe.
The PIL was filed by senior citizens claiming that the illegal parking of vehicles near the station causes great inconvenience to the public. However, the Court called the PIL a “luxury litigation” and emphasized that petitioners should actively help in resolving the problem.
"It is very easy to say they are not doing this...Our job is not to do all this, our job is to decide cases of litigants who come to the court with substantive rights. This is luxury litigation," observed CJ Aradhe.
The Court further questioned whether the petitioners had any solid evidence to support their claims. It pointed out that mere statements were not enough and criticized the habit of constantly making complaints without contributing to solutions.
"What is the material to show that it is being done...Yours statement is not sufficient...They are in the habit of making complaints. They are against the system and they only know how to make complaints," CJ Aradhe said.
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In response, the petitioners’ counsel assured the Court that they would file an affidavit proving that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had failed to take action against illegal parking. On the other hand, the State's counsel defended the authorities, stating that continuous patrols are conducted in the area and around 830 illegally parked vehicles have already been penalized.
The petitioners' counsel then sought time to consult with his clients regarding launching an awareness campaign at the station.
The Court agreed and adjourned the matter for further hearing.
Case title: Digambar Raghunath Mungekar vs The Municipal Corporation Of Gr. Mumbai (PIL/5/2025)
