India, Feb. 13 -- The Bombay High Court has pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for allowing open cremations at Manori Beach, a 10-15 minute ferry ride from Marve Beach in Malad, observing that the civic body failed to act despite subsisting court orders restraining any activity on the disputed plot.

A division bench of justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Abhay J Mantri was hearing a petition filed by NGO Awaaz Foundation, which alleged that bodies were being cremated in the open on land reserved for a Hindu crematorium near Gorai Beach. The petition stated that the plot abuts the Arabian Sea along a rocky foreshore and that court orders had already barred all activities at the site.

According to the plea, the BMC had attem...