Proceedings against highrise panel member set aside

Mumbai: Four years after Shailesh Mahimtura (57), one of the city's top structural engineers and a member of the highrise committee, was arrested over bribery allegations, the Bombay high court quashed criminal proceedings against him under a special anti-corruption law ruling that he was not a "public servant".

"In the facts of the case, it would be too far-fetched to suggest that Mahimtura, who was admittedly a non-official member, appointed by name on the said committee, which was advisory in nature, is a public servant," said Justice Revati Dere. "Although, there may be in a sense, public duty attached to the job assigned to (Mahimtura), who was appointed as a non-official member of the technical committee, but merely because he was performing a public duty does not make him ipso facto a public servant," the judge added.

The law says that only a government officer or a public servant can be criminally prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Mahimtura was appointed to the committee in 2007. It looks into proposals submitted by builders whose projects are over 70 metres in height (over 24 floors) and makes its recommendation to the Mumbai municipal commissioner, who can accept or over-rule it. Mahimtura was arrested in May 2010 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) after a Matunga builder complained that he had demanded Rs 30 lakh to clear a proposal. The ACB claimed that they had caught two persons red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 15 lakh on behalf of the engineer. Mahimtura's lawyers claimed that he was falsely implicated and he could not have been booked under the PCA as he was not a public servant.

"Generally, a public servant is an authority who must be appointed by the government or a semi-governmental body and be in the pay or salary of the same; and such a person is to discharge his duties in accordance with the rules and regulations made by the government," the judge said. The HC pointed out that Mahimtura had not been employed by the government or appointed based on a law. He was appointed as a non-official member for three years based on his expertise. His honorarium came from a special fund set up from scrutiny charges deposited by builders and architects.

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