Bombay HC: Pvt persons can’t impose fine on citizens

The Bombay high court on Tuesday once again questioned the authority of Clean-Up marshals to impose fines on citizens found littering and engaging in non-civic behaviour. “If allowed to punish citizens, then private persons might even be allowed to jail people in future,” a division bench of justices SA Bobade and RD Dhanuka observed.

“Show us the clause that allows you to allow private persons to collect fines," the bench said, while refusing to lift its earlier oral curb on Clean-Up marshals from collecting fines. The court made the observations during its hearing of a plea by ESS Infra Projects, a body of ready-mix cement truck owners that has challenged the marshals' right to fine truck owners “for dirtying the roads with mud”.

As per its plea, Clean-Up marshals have been levying a fine of Rs10,000 on the ready-mix cement trucks found to have mud around their wheels. Failure to pay ends up in the vehicles being detained for hours, leading to a loss worth Rs30,000, as once mixed the cement must reach its destination within three hours or else it dries up. The next hearing of the plea will come up after vacation.