Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by an RTI activist seeking enquiry against the BMC for appointing and paying over Rs 80 lakhs to senior advocate Aspi Chinoy to represent the civic body in the matter pertaining to the demolition of actress Kangana Ranaut's bungalow.
A bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Manish Pitale said, "This is an area where we cannot interfere or regulate. What fees should be charged by an advocate on record or a senior advocate is not something that this court should go into."
The bench even said the court cannot decide which is a serious or a petty case and instead it is for the authorities to decide the same. It also said that the civic body has all the rights to appoint an advocate or senior counsel of its choice in whichever matter it seeks to.
The bench was dealing with a plea filed by one Sharad Yadav seeking CBI probe against the BMC for causing huge loss to the public exchequer by appointing senior counsel Aspi Chinoy. He pointed out that the civic body paid a hefty amount of Rs 82.50 lakhs to the senior advocate for representing the BMC against Kangana's bungalow demolition matter.
The judges while dismissing the plea said if Yadav claims any cheating or scam has taken place then he must approach the police or a Magistrate and lodge a relevant complaint.
