The High Court has issued a formal contempt notice to former Chief Officer of the Mapusa Municipal Council, Chandrakant Shetkar, after finding a prima facie deliberate intent to delay enforcement action against illegal structures in compliance with the Court’s order. The High Court has further warned Shetkar that warrants would be issued if he failed to appear in person at the next hearing.
The Court observed that, despite more than 19 hearings spread over 15 months, Shetkar failed to file an affidavit or appear before it.
The proceedings arise from a contempt petition filed by Vijay Vasant Harmalkar and another petitioner, following a judgment delivered by the High Court on April 17, 2023. At that time, the Court had directed the Chief Officer to dispose of two long-pending show-cause notices from 2018 by June 30, 2023. It also ordered the officer to issue a third show-cause notice within 15 days, based on the petitioners’ complaints.
On reviewing the record, the High Court noted that Shetkar, who was in charge as Chief Officer as of June 26, 2023, failed to comply with the Court’s timeline. While the second and third notices were disposed of on June 28, 2023, the first show-cause notice—dating back to June 2018—was disposed of only on February 16, 2026, in direct violation of the Court’s direction.
The High Court further observed that the disposal orders were conditional, allowing the violator six months to seek regularisation of the offending structures, failing which they were to be removed. However, the officer took nearly two additional years, passing an order for demolition only on June 25, 2025.
Expressing strong displeasure at Shetkar’s conduct during the contempt proceedings, the High Court recorded that although he was served notice on June 4, 2025, he had still not filed an affidavit after one year and three months and more than 19 hearings. At the latest hearing, the Court rejected another plea by the contemnor’s counsel seeking additional time to file a reply.
In its order, the High Court stated: “Considering all the aforementioned facts, prima facie, we are of the opinion that there was a clear intent on the part of the Contemnor/Respondent to delay the process of taking action in terms of the order dated 17.04.2023.”
The High Court directed the Registry to issue notice to Chandrakant Shetkar, returnable on December 15, 2026. The High Court expressly ordered the former Chief Officer to remain personally present in court on that date, cautioning that failure to appear would leave it “constrained to issue appropriate warrants.”
