High Court orders pothole accident compensation panel

Maharashtra has moved to operationalize a Bombay High Court order on pothole and open-manhole accidents by creating a state-level committee to process compensation claims. A government circular issued on May 20 said the panel will handle cases on roads under the Public Works Department’s jurisdiction and act under the framework laid down by the court. The move follows an October 13, 2025 judgment in which the High Court directed compensation for deaths and injuries linked to unsafe roads and said accountability should extend to officials and contractors. The court’s order came in a long-running suo motu public interest case on road safety in Mumbai and Maharashtra. ### Which committee has Maharashtra created, and who will run it? The May 20 government circular said Maharashtra has constituted a high-level committee under the additional chief secretary of the Public Works Department to deal with compensation in cases involving potholes and open manholes on PWD roads. The secretary for roads in the department will serve as member secretary, and the secretary of the district legal services authority in the relevant district will be a member, according to the circular. Mumbai-based Loksatta reported that the circular was issued after directions from the Bombay High Court. The stated aim is to scrutinize accident cases separately and speed up compensation decisions in a more structured way. ### What did the Bombay High Court order in October 2025? A Division Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh D. Patil on October 13, 2025 directed that families of people who die in accidents caused by potholes or open manholes should receive ₹6 lakh in compensation. The court also directed compensation of ₹50,000 to ₹2.5 lakh for injured victims, depending on the nature and severity of the injury. Bar and Bench and Verdictum, which reported on the order, said the case stemmed from a suo motu proceeding first triggered by a July 24, 2013 letter from former judge G.S. Patel to the Chief Justice about the condition of Mumbai’s roads. The High Court registered the matter on July 29, 2013 and continued to monitor it over the years as road conditions remained a recurring issue. ### What did the judges say about accountability? The Bombay High Court said deaths and serious injuries caused by potholes and open manholes had become a regular feature during the monsoon. The bench said there was “no seriousness on the part of the authorities” in addressing the problem, according to Verdictum’s account of the order. The judges said accountability had to be fixed not only on contractors but also on civic authorities. Loksatta reported that the court said compensation paid by the government in such cases should be recovered from the salaries of responsible officials and that contractors’ liability should also be determined. ### How will the compensation process work now? The May 20 circular said chief engineers have been directed to convene meetings immediately after information is received about an accident caused by potholes or open manholes. The circular requires officials to gather information from engineers, the transport department, contractors and other agencies and submit a detailed report to the government within seven days, Loksatta reported. The Times of India reported in November 2025, when the state first set out the framework after the court order, that the first meeting of the committee should be held within seven days of receiving information about a death or accident. It said the panel would then meet at least once every 15 days, especially during the monsoon, to monitor compliance. ### Which agencies are covered beyond the PWD? The High Court’s October 2025 directions were not limited to the Public Works Department. The Times of India reported that the court told authorities including municipal corporations, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, Mhada, the Mumbai Port Authority and the National Highways Authority of India to set up similar committees for compensation decisions. The Hindu reported after the judgment that the compensation framework applied to civic bodies and state agencies across Maharashtra. That widened the order beyond a single road-owning authority and tied payouts to the agency responsible for the road where the accident occurred. ### What happens next before the monsoon? Maharashtra’s May 20 circular said implementation of the government decision must be reviewed regularly at the chief engineer level, with at least one meeting every month. The next milestone is administrative rather than judicial: accident reports must now be routed into the new panel process, with district legal services authorities and PWD officials participating in case review and compensation decisions.