Mumbai ‘Metro Woman’ To 1st BMC Commissioner Whose Salary Was Stopped By SC: Who Is Ashwini Bhide?

In a first in the history of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai civic chief Ashwini Bhide faced an explicit judicial salary freeze for failing to clear encroachments.

While the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court have routinely issued severe warnings, show-cause notices, and threats of imprisonment to Mumbai’s municipal chiefs over the years, the order to directly halt a sitting commissioner’s personal pay is unprecedented for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Bhide faced the Supreme Court‘s wrath for failing to clear illegal encroachments on government land reserved for a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus station in Borivali East, Mumbai.

A three-judge bench—comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana—initiated strict contempt of court proceedings against her after the BMC failed to comply with multiple time-bound orders previously issued by the apex court.

The Supreme Court took severe measures during the hearing, including: