Bombay HC appoints senior counsel as amicus curiae in fund diversion case
Kasba Peth MLA Ravindra Dhangekar alleged that funds sanctioned for his constituency have been redirected to constituencies (Parvati and Shivajinagar) belonging to MLAs from the ruling party
The Bombay High Court has appointed senior counsel Milind Sathe as amicus curiae to assist the court in connection with a writ petition claiming the diversion of funds from Kasba Peth constituency to Parvati and Shivajinagar constituencies.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Kasba Peth MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, who challenged the July 27, 2023, Government Resolution (GR) cited as corrigendum “rectified” earlier GR dated December 20, 2022.
Interestingly, the HC refused to entertain the writ petition at the behest of the Dhangekar even as it took suo moto cognisance of the issue mentioned in it and directed the court registrar to register this case as a separate PIL petition.
The legislator in the October 2023 petition challenged the subsequent GR and submitted that by issuing a corrigendum on July 27, 2023, all the funds sanctioned by the government for the development of basic amenities in the Kasba constituency, have now been sanctioned and allocated for Parvati and Shivajinagar constituencies respectively without there being any reasonable basis.
The legislator alleged that funds sanctioned for his constituency have been redirected to constituencies (Parvati and Shivajinagar ) belonging to MLAs from the ruling party.
The high court bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Arif S Doctor their January 2 order stated, “Unless there are some compelling and justifiable reasons, such as there being any defect in the process of recommendation by the authorities of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) or desirability of scraping a particular project on account of the project not being suitable for the residents of the area etc., sanction once accorded normally should not be rescinded.”
The order adds, “We thus take suo moto cognizance of the issues raised in this writ petition and accordingly we propose to appoint an amicus curiae to assist this court. On our request, Dr Milind Sathe, learned senior counsel has readily agreed to extend his services as amicus curiae for assisting the court. Accordingly, the office is directed to register this case as a separate PIL petition and provide the paper book and other documents available on this writ petition to Dr Milind Sathe.”
The court further directed Advocate Abhijit Kulkarni, standing counsel for PMC to seek complete instructions in the matter, especially with respect to the process adopted by the PMC while making a recommendation for the execution of works based on which earlier GR dated December 20, 2022, was issued.
The next hearing is scheduled for January 30.
